A test team made up of Air Force, Navy, and industry officials conducted the first live drops of a GPS-guided weapon from the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle May 13 at the Navy test range at China Lake, Calif. On that day, the team carried out six successful releases of the GBU-49 munition from the Reaper, with GPS guiding direct hits on targets. The GBU-49 is a 500-pound bomb that features both laser guidance and an on-board GPS kit for all-weather, precision-delivery capability. The Air Force has been flying MQ-9s in combat in Afghanistan since September 2007, employing 500-pound laser-guided bombs in combat as well as Hellfire surface-attack missiles (see below). (Includes Wright-Patterson report by Laura McGowan)
Pentagon officials overseeing homeland counter-drone strategy told lawmakers that even with preliminary moves to bolster U.S. base defenses, the military still lacks the capability to comprehensively identify, track, and engage hostile drones like those that breached the airspace of Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for 17 days in December…