Archive for September 11th, 2012

Navy and Insitu personnel lift the RQ-21A Small Tacticall Unmanned Aircraft System (STUAS) onto launcher in prepartion for flight at Naval Air Station China Lake, Calif. Sept. 10. (U.S. Navy Photo)

Navy, Marines Begin RQ-21 Developmental Flight Testing

September 11, 2012 at 15:50 3 comments

A little more than two years into its engineering, manufacturing and development phase, the RQ-21A Small Tactical Unmanned Air System (STUAS) entered developmental test at China Lake, Calif. beginning with a 66-minute flight Monday. During the initial developmental flight test at the weapons station on Sept. 10, 2012 operators flew [...]

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MV-22B lifts an M198 towed howitzer with a sling load. Photo: USMC

While Osprey Protests Embroil Okinawa, Other Japanese Islanders Welcome the Marines and the MV-22B

September 11, 2012 at 07:00 2 comments

Tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied Sunday in protest of plans to deploy a squadron of Marine Corps MV-22B Ospreys in Okinawa. However, from the US standpoint, without the Osprey, the Marines cannot perform their mission. There is no alternative airframe available and as it seems, the United States is unable to satisfy the demands of the Okinawan protestors.

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