The Air Force’s UAV Battlelab, working with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Navy Research Lab, is attempting to demonstrate the potential for an expendable unmanned aerial vehicle to provide sensor and target data to AC-130 gunships and the armed MQ-1 Predator UAV, reports Flight International. This expendable UAV would support the larger aircraft by providing video, infrared camera images, and a laser designator.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.