The Defense Department's $740.5 billion budget request for fiscal 2021 increases spending on nuclear modernization, space, cyberspace, and multi-domain operations in preparation for great power competition, while proposing to cut dozens of legacy aircraft and reducing overseas contingency operations funding for the wars in the ...
When the Air Force Research Laboratory’s experimentation office was chartered in 2016, the idea of ‘try before you buy’ hadn’t picked up much speed. Nearly four years later, the office is using momentum and top cover from leadership to institutionalize experiments as regular practice in ...
The XQ-58A Valkyrie drone finished its fourth flight test in Arizona on Jan. 23, coming back from a mishap that occurred during its previous test in the fall. Valkyrie, an Air Force Research Laboratory program with manufacturer Kratos Defense, is being designed as a possible ...
Military research on how to protect against threatening unmanned aircraft has so far focused on two ends of the drone spectrum—store-bought products like small quadcopters and large, advanced aircraft akin to the MQ-9 Reaper. But Evan Hunt, high-energy laser business development lead at Raytheon, argues ...
Dynetics and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are moving forward with their Gremlins drone swarming program after flying a small unmanned aircraft for the first time in late November. The X-61A flew with and launched from a C-130 wing at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. ...
NATO on Jan. 17 received the first two of five Air Ground Surveillance system drones at NAS Sigonella, Italy. The AGS system, a variant of the RQ-4 Global Hawk already in use by multiple nations, will be used by NATO to watch over Europe, and ...
Congress approved relatively modest funding for the Air Force’s main drone programs in fiscal 2020 while continuing to endorse investments in new kinds of unmanned aircraft.
An Air Force F-16 recently shot down a targeting drone with an AGR-20A Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System rocket queued by the Viper’s targeting pod for the first time in a demonstration of future cruise missile defense.
The Air Force's 402nd Software Engineering Group on Dec. 10 received the 2019 Rear Adm. Grace M. Hopper Award for Software Maintenance Excellence at the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards in Spokane, Wash., according to a Dec. 16 Air Force release. This was the first ...
The Air Force Research Laboratory recently conducted a successful test of a next-generation, customizable remotely piloted aircraft, flying the drone for about two and a half days earlier this month. The Ultra Long Endurance Aircraft Platform, known as Ultra LEAP, is a commercial airframe converted ...
US European Command and NATO are bringing in new remotely piloted aircraft, and repositioning aircraft already deployed to the region, to ensure it has the best “indications and warnings” of potential Russian activity. But, as always, more capability is needed, the head of US European ...
Capt. John Webber (l) of Civil Air Patrol's Indiana Wing provides instruction to Cadet Capt. Linus McFarland at CAP's National Emergency Services Academy. Civil Air Patrol photo. Civil Air Patrol is now using small drones to aid in search and...