Defense Systems
Air Force to automate tracking of space debris
Air Force personnel charged with tracking space debris in orbit to ensure that it doesn't interfere with operational satellites will begin using a new suite of automated equipment later this year to perform the complex task.
Defense Systems
Reaper UAV upgrades would substantially extend flight time
The Air Force's premier armed unmanned aerial vehicle would be able to fly for nearly two days straight if upgrades proposed by its manufacturer, General Atomics, were made to the Reaper MQ-9 fleet.
Defense Systems
Air Force selects 9 for NetCents II
Commercial products to be sold through the contract include networking equipment, servers and storage, peripherals, multimedia, software, and identity management/biometric hardware and associated software.
Defense Systems
Space Fence on track for final build-out
Raytheon recently completed a comprehensive preliminary design review of its Space Fence system designed to demonstrate the S-band radar's technical maturity in its ability to detect and track the increasing amount of space debris orbiting the Earth.
Defense Systems
Lawmakers contest Air Force personnel cuts
A number of U.S. lawmakers have gone on record with their opposition to proposed budget cuts by the Air Force.
Defense Systems
Budget cuts change the landscape for satcom and satellite usage
Satellite communications take on a new role as military space assets redeploy and budgets decline.
Defense Systems
Iowa Air National Guard charts path to scalable comms
The Iowa Air National Guard has chosen C4i's Switchplus IP as its upgrade for its antiquated communications system for the 132nd Fighter Wing, based in Des Moines, Iowa.
Defense Systems
What can UAV analysts learn from 'Jersey Shore'?
The Air Force might soon be adopting practices used by reality television producers to efficiently manage the large volume of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data gathered from unmanned aircraft sensors and cameras.
Defense Systems
Air Force puts new iPad buy on fast track
The Air Force Special Operations Command has announced another solicitation for Apple iPad tablet computers to store digital charts for its flight crews.
Defense Systems
MIDS JTRS terminal advances to full production
The U.S. military is moving a software-defined networking terminal that distributes information from the Joint Tactical Radio System into full production, and it will be fielded soon on several key Air Force and Navy weapons platforms.
Defense Systems
Will the Air Force ever catch up with its UAV data backlog?
It may be years before the Air Force has the human resources and tools in place to keep up with the enormous amounts of data gathered from its fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles and the sophisticated sensors that they employ on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, says Air Force Secretary Michael Donley.
Defense Systems
Looking for a sharper image with sensors for unmanned platforms
The military's shift to high-definition sensors requires many changes.
Defense Systems
Blue Devil Block 2 airship has friends in high places
A pair of influential U.S. senators are upset about Air Force plans to cut the 370-foot-long Blue Devil Block 2 airship program and have informed the Defense Department that they believe it would be "a significant failure to stop work and not deploy" the platform to Afghanistan.
Defense Systems
Nuclear force in need of C3 improvements, STRATCOM's Kehler says
STRATCOM's command, control and communications network is functioning at a less than an optimum level, Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Defense Systems
Mass layoffs loom large on defense industry horizon
The U.S. defense industry might experience hundreds of thousands of layoffs if members of Congress don't take action to head off an additional $500 billion in defense budget cuts that could take effect in January 2013, a top Pentagon official told Congress.
Defense Systems
Global Hawk has staunch defender in Congress
Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), a member of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, says he will recommend continuing funding for the Global Hawk Block 30 unmanned aircraft, which the Air Force plans to put into storage as a key part of a comprehensive budget-cutting effort.
Defense Systems
Big data poses big challenge for military intelligence
As sensors continue to generate enormous volumes of data, DOD planners are struggling with techniques to ensure such data remains useful to warfighters.
Defense Systems
Winners and losers in the fiscal 2013 budget
It's been several weeks since the release of the fiscal 2013 defense budget, and heads are certainly still spinning in the Pentagon. Here are some of the winners and losers at each of the services.
Defense Systems
US cyber defense situation looks grim
The United States should call out Beijing for its relentless global hacking on the world stage, said an analyst at the Air Force Association's cyber conference.
Defense Systems