The conflict in Ukraine is increasingly emerging as a test bed for new American unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Since neither Russia nor Ukraine’s air force has been able to achieve air superiority, both sides have turned to drones to augment their capabilities.
With the unveiling of the B-21 Raider, speculation and interest in the new bomber have reached a fever pitch, with a first flight still to come in mid-2023. But the B-21 won’t just be about the large, flying wing aircraft that rolled out in Palmdale, ...
The Defense Department on Sept. 10 announced new guidance to control which commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) DOD organizations can acquire, with the intent of making it easier to buy approved commercial UASs of all sizes while ensuring such systems do not become a vector ...
U.S. forces in the Middle East are not prepared enough to defend against swarms of small drones, and the Pentagon needs to work harder to get ahead of the enduring threat, the head of U.S. Central Command warned. Small unmanned aerial systems, which can be ...
U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles are the best in the world, but allied nations are barred from acquiring those systems under a 1987 voluntary non-proliferation agreement that classifies them as equivalent to nuclear weapons. Now a new report from the Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies argues ...
The U.S. Air Force Academy intends to bring back about three-quarters of its Cadet Wing—basic cadets included—this summer, USAFA Graduate Liaison Nicole Cox wrote in a May 27 email to alumni that was obtained by Air Force Magazine. A USAFA spokesperson confirmed the email’s validity. ...
The Air Force’s plan to cut MQ-9 Reaper production and some air patrols in the fiscal 2021 budget request would negatively impact the ability to conduct operations and provide enough over watch in hotspots in the Middle East and Africa, the top officials responsible for ...
An Air Force-affiliated technology accelerator on Jan. 24 named the startups chosen to participate in 2020, its third group since 2018. The “Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars” program picks small businesses that offer products that can benefit troops as well as a broad swath ...
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. ...
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.