The Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB, Calif., has tapped Lockheed Martin to continue its Mark IVB weather system, awarding the company a contract potentially worth $42 million over nine years, according to a Lockheed release. A company Web page defines the Mark IVB as a “meteorological data ingest, processing and dissemination system.” The system has been redesigned to collect data from all currently defined satellites and will be fully net-centric and machine-to-machine capable. It already supplies data to all coalition operations centers and Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps elements.
CCAs and Autonomy Gain Momentum as Focus of Future Force
Sept. 29, 2026
For the past four years, the idea of autonomous drone warfare like Collaborative Combat Aircraft has been discussed as a future concept, rather than near-term reality. But now that promised vision appears imminent, with the Air Force promising at least 1,000 such drones by 2032.