Lawmakers, experts raise concerns over Pentagon’s ambitious Replicator drone initiative

Lawmakers, experts raise concerns over Pentagon’s ambitious Replicator drone initiative
Lawmakers, experts raise concerns over Pentagon’s ambitious Replicator drone initiative

As it currently stands, Replicator “is kind of aiming at the wrong problem,” Bryan Clark, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute said.

Show, don’t tell: Navy changes strategy to sell unmanned systems to skeptical Congress

Show, don’t tell: Navy changes strategy to sell unmanned systems to skeptical Congress
Show, don’t tell: Navy changes strategy to sell unmanned systems to skeptical Congress

The Navy’s pitch to Congress to embrace unmanned technology is changing, analysts say, to one that embraces the ‘evolutionary’ rather than the ‘revolutionary.’

Navy’s New Unmanned Fleet Likely To Hunt Chinese & Russian Subs

Navy’s New Unmanned Fleet Likely To Hunt Chinese & Russian Subs
Navy’s New Unmanned Fleet Likely To Hunt Chinese & Russian Subs

Tracking and harassing submarines will likely be a key job for the new generation of networked, unmanned ships.

Open Architecture: The Devils ARE In The Details

Open Architecture: The Devils ARE In The Details
Open Architecture: The Devils ARE In The Details

WASHINGTON: Two years ago, Capt. John Zimmerman and his award-winning Navy team were testing a software upgrade for submarines when they ran into a surprising problem. When they changed the code controlling the Tomahawk missile launchers, the torpedo tubes stopped working. Fortunately, this all happened in a laboratory ashore before the upgrade got anywhere near the…

Drone Defender Drops D-word Denial

Drone Defender Drops D-word Denial
Drone Defender Drops D-word Denial

WASHINGTON: We love being able to say “we told you so,” and today we can. During a 30-minute conference call with reporters Monday, the president of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), Michael Toscano, used the word “drone” four times. Not too long ago, Toscano might have washed his own mouth out with…

DON’T SAY ‘DRONES,’ Beg Drone Makers

DON’T SAY ‘DRONES,’ Beg Drone Makers
DON’T SAY ‘DRONES,’ Beg Drone Makers

AUVSI: When you read or hear the word “drone,” is your first thought, “killer robot?” The leaders of the drone industry fear it is, which is why they’re hoping to persuade the news media to stop using a nice, clear, five-letter English word and instead clutter their reports with eye-glazing acronyms such as UAS, UAV,…

Northrop Offers Rental Drones To Air Force, Customs Training

Northrop Offers Rental Drones To Air Force, Customs Training
Northrop Offers Rental Drones To Air Force, Customs Training

UPDATED: CORRECTED AUG. 14 AUVSI: Northrop Grumman is pitching a new method of drone pilot training to the Air Force and U.S. Customs and Border Protection based on a business model likely to gain in popularity as the drone revolution expands into civilian airspace: “fee for service.” Rather than training pilots on valuable MQ-1 Predators and…

Why The Military Wants Robots With Legs (Not To Run Faster Than Usain Bolt)

Why is the military’s elite research arm so interested in robots with legs? It isn’t speed. Boston Dynamics’ Cheetah robot, funded by DARPA, made headlines after it broke its own speed record yesterday and became the first robot to run on legs faster than the fastest human, track star Usain Bolt. Cheetah got up to…

AUVSI Urges FAA To Get Cracking On Test Ranges For Domestic Drones

UAV group AUVSI to FAA (http://bit.ly/Se6I1u): Get moving on test program for drones in US airspace, which Congress wanted by Aug. 12th. SydneyFreedberg