Lockheed Martin says that the Defense Satellite Communications System III constellation has “surpassed 175 years of on-orbit service.” The DSCS constellation comprises nine satellites in geostationary orbit that provide worldwide military secure voice and high-data-rate communications. The company has built 14 DSCS spacecraft, the last of which launched in August 2003.
The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force has unveiled a new electronic warfare drone designed to fly with fighter jets into contested airspace, including alongside its fleet of F-35s. RAF says it plans to develop models that draw on the U.S. Air Force’s approach of mating unmanned systems with crewed platforms.