Security Forces airmen deployed to Southwest Asia are finding an invaluable force protection asset in the form of the diminutive Desert Hawk, a small unmanned aerial vehicle that two people launch via a bungee cord and “fly” with a laptop, reports Air Force journalist MSgt. Jason Tudor. Known formally as the Force Protection Airborne Security System, the seven-pound UAV, made of foam plastic, performs day and night local reconnaissance and surveillance missions. Each FPASS comprises six aircraft (five are backups), a ground control station, and an antenna.
Advancements in commercial space technology could make President Donald Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense network far more likely to succeed than the failed “Star Wars” strategic umbrella initiative of the 1980s, U.S. Space Command’s top general said May 22....