Northrop Grumman has flight tested the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node—an Internet-based communications relay and information server that, flying at extremely high altitude, extends the range of line-of-sight radios to relay data to airborne and surface-based units. It can even link, via satellite, to distant command centers. USAF and Northrop flew the BACN aboard a high-flying NASA WB-57 test aircraft, acting a surrogate for USAF’s RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV. Officials plan to evaluate the system further during the Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment in April.
China Practicing ‘Dogfighting in Space,’ US Space Force Says
March 18, 2025
China has been using experimental satellites to practice “dogfighting” in space, the U.S. Space Force’s No. 2 officer said March 18, the latest in a series of revelations as to how America’s adversaries may seek to disrupt U.S. space operations in the future.