A new Government Accountability Office report praises operational employment of unmanned aerial vehicles in both Afghanistan and Iraq, but it questions the “jointness” of UAV development. GAO auditors attribute some of their concern to US Central Command, saying CENTCOM “believes communications interoperability and payload commonality problems” occur because of “service specific” development that is “insufficiently attentive to joint needs.” For its part, DOD concurred with recommendations on creating greater interoperability, but it took issue with the GAO assertions that the Pentagon should push for payload commonality. The Pentagon response notes, “Unmanned aircraft payload procurement is dependent on service mission requirements, physical design limitations … and the rapid nature of technology evolutions.” (Read our articles on the fight to control UAVs and future plans for UAVs.)
Small one-way attack drones widely used on the frontlines of Ukraine and against U.S. outposts in the Middle East have fundamentally altered the definition of air superiority, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. James C. “Jim” Slife said April 24. "Our traditional conception of what things like…