GAO tells Air Force: Improve Service Conditions for Drone Pilots
Since 2008 the US Air Force has more than tripled the number of its active-duty pilots flying Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) - including General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, MQ-9 Reaper and Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, as well as a number of operational types that are...
World First: Neuron UCAV flying in formation with Rafale, Falcon 7X
On March 20, 2014 Dassault Aviation has performed a unique formation flight in which the nEUROn unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) was flown in formation with a Rafale fighter and a Falcon 7X business jet, both produced by the company. Organizing a formation flight like...
Airborne Sense and Avoid Radars for RPAs
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) successfully completed its second airborne demonstration for the Air Force Research Lab under its Multi Sensor Detect Sense and Avoid (MSDSA) program using a prototype radar sensor. This new Airborne Sense and Avoid (ABSAA) sensor, utilized on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles...
Autonomous ASW: The Predator Becoming a Prey
In three years the US Navy could have a prototype of an autonomous anti-submarine warfare vessel that will be able to detect, track and shadow any type of submarine, including ultra-quiet diesel-electric subs, turning these undersea beast from predators into targets.
The Human Aspect of Unmanned Surface Vehicles
In order to successfully operate maritime platforms, trained crews and their commanding officers are required to possess a range of technological capacities on top of their personal ones as fighters and sailors. Are the same professional skills relevant also for operation of USVs? As systems become more autonomous, human operators with different skills and different types of training will be required.
The F-35 – the UK’s Last Manned Combat Aircraft Procurement?
in 2005, the percentage of Unmanned Systems was just 5% of the US Military Aircraft. At the beginning of 2012, that number had risen to 31%. Given that the UK has set a strategy to keep operational all new air systems for circa 40–50 years, what value can be seen in committing now to spending on a new expensive manned combat aircraft?
