Death To (Tiny) Drones: New Technologies Compete At Quantico

Death To (Tiny) Drones: New Technologies Compete At Quantico
Death To (Tiny) Drones: New Technologies Compete At Quantico

The military is devoting more and more attention to the threat of hostile drones on the battlefield, but what to do about the dangers posed by tiny micro-drones, especially in urban areas, where simply shooting them down isn’t usually a good option? Eight finalists in a technology challenge sponsored by the Department of Defense, Department…

How Next President Can Build New National Security Space Strategy

How Next President Can Build New National Security Space Strategy
How Next President Can Build New National Security Space Strategy

The next administration must do a “strategic rebalancing” of means to achieve what have been consistent national space security ends (goals): stability, sustainability and freedom of access. But a significant challenge to both reaffirming ends, and determining and implementing means, is structure, as we point out in a recent Strategy Paper for the Atlantic Council. While space is…

New AIA Prez Melcher Sets Big 2016 Goals: Bucks, Bombers & Beyond

New AIA Prez Melcher Sets Big 2016 Goals: Bucks, Bombers & Beyond
New AIA Prez Melcher Sets Big 2016 Goals: Bucks, Bombers & Beyond

WASHINGTON: “I’m optimistic,” said the new president of the powerful Aerospace Industries Association, David Melcher, looking ahead to 2016. That statement in itself is a departure from the often dire warnings of his predecessor, long-time AIA president (and former Breaking Defense contributor) Marion Blakey. “Who would have thought four months ago that Ex-Im bank would be reauthorized?”…

Air Force ‘Invited’ To Observe Investigation Of SpaceX Launch Failure

Air Force ‘Invited’ To Observe Investigation Of SpaceX Launch Failure
Air Force ‘Invited’ To Observe Investigation Of SpaceX Launch Failure

UPDATED: SMC Clarifies That Certification Is Not Indefinite. PENTAGON: Word from the Air Force is that SpaceX “remains certified” to launch the nation’s most expensive and heaviest intelligence and Air Force satellites. It took a few days, which is not surprising how politically and legally sensitive everything involving Elon Musk and SpaceX national security launch certification…

Who’s Right On C-130 AMP: The Congressman Or Air Force Lawyers?

Who’s Right On C-130 AMP: The Congressman Or Air Force Lawyers?
Who’s Right On C-130 AMP: The Congressman Or Air Force Lawyers?

UPDATED: Corrects Cost Per Plane To $3.8M; Holmes “Misspoke;” Adds Enhanced Mode S Upgrade CAPITOL HILL: The law is the law. But the law must be written and it must then be interpreted in practice. Ay, there’s the rub. Add the National Guard, local politics, aging C-130s, and a wobbly defense budget in which hard choices must…

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…

FAA Hints US Drone Approval Deadline May Fly By

FAA Hints US Drone Approval Deadline May Fly By
FAA Hints US Drone Approval Deadline May Fly By

WASHINGTON: Those hyperventilating at the specter of drones flooding U.S. skies because Congress has told the Federal Aviation Administration to achieve “the safe integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system as soon as practicable, but not later than September 30, 2015,” can now take a deep breath. Those in industry panting…

Rep. Randy Forbes: Don’t Break Ranks With Allies In Face Of China’s ADIZ

Rep. Randy Forbes: Don’t Break Ranks With Allies In Face Of China’s ADIZ
Rep. Randy Forbes: Don’t Break Ranks With Allies In Face Of China’s ADIZ

WASHINGTON: As the crisis over China’s self-declared “air defense identification zone” hits its tenth day with no signs of de-escalation, leading Republican lawmaker Rep. Randy Forbes questioned an apparent concession by the administration over commercial flights. Meanwhile, South Korea is contemplating expanding its own long-standing ADIZ to challenge China’s — but it might do so in a…

Mini-Drones Go Commercial — But There’re Problems

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — They’re coming. And they’re not just for the military anymore. Dozens of companies have sprung up in the last few years making remote controlled, mini-aircraft mounted with cameras, that are increasingly being used for commercial and even entertainment purposes.

Drones Fly Into Postwar Storm: Insitu Faces Shrinking DoD Budget, ITAR, FAA

GILLIAM COUNTY, OREGON: This isolated test site in rural Oregon is where Boeing subsidiary Insitu takes its drones “to torture them,” said site manager Jerry McWithey. Temperates soar to 110 degrees in summer and plummet to 10 degrees — with 50-knot winds — in winter. The hot-and-cold ordeal the drones go through is a microcosm…

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

FAA Drone Chief Enthusiastic About Plan For UAVs Over Alaska, And Beyond

LAS VEGAS: Getting America’s National Airspace System (NAS) ready for unmanned aircraft by 2015 will be hard going, but one good sign is that the FAA’s point man positively vibrates with enthusiasm. “I actually volunteered for this job,” said James Williams, head of the FAA’s recently created Unmanned Air Systems Integration Office, right at the…

FAA, ICAO Scramble To Get Drones Flying In Civilian Airspace

LAS VEGAS: As military spending shrinks, makers of unmanned aircraft are looking to civilian customers to pick up the slack — but getting ready to fly drones in civilian airspace is a big technological and regulatory challenge. On Tuesday, acting Federal Aviation Administrator Michael Huerta became the first FAA chief to address the annual conference…

New Army ‘Sense, Avoid’ Gear May Mean Drones Can Fly Safely In US

WASHINGTON: The Army has put together and demonstrated a system of ground-based “sense and avoid” technology that should show the Federal Aviation Administration the military can safely fly drones in civilian airspace without ground observers or chase planes, the project’s leader tells Breaking Defense. “We’re ready now to start getting the system certified,” said Viva…