The Air Force Office of Scientific Research is working with Brigham Young University to develop the means for unmanned aerial vehicles to coordinate with one another, according to BYU professor Tim McLain. “We’ve developed and demonstrated cooperative timing methods that would enable simultaneous strike-type execution by UAVs,” said McLain. The research team has been able to coordinate simultaneous arrival by three UAVs, seeing them arrive within fractions of a second over a target. Other experiments have surmounted problems such as inconsistent information and changing perimeters. (Read more here.)
The Pentagon announced new long-term agreements with four defense companies May 13 to develop and produce large numbers of low-cost cruise missiles. And while the effort will focus mostly on the Army to start, it pairs with Air Force efforts to find more affordable munitions.