Defense Systems

Tech allows drone video feeds through eyepiece

New technology developed by a retired soldier allows for live viewing during combat of drone feeds via a tiny eyepiece.

Defense Systems

Army radio program sparks Nunn-McCurdy breach

Army's Joint Tactical Radio System Ground Mobile Radio program triggers the Nunn-McCurdy breach.

Defense Systems

Gadhafi turns to floating bombs to disrupt NATO efforts

NATO forces enforcing the maritime embargo on Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi May 16 blew apart with small arms a rigid-hull inflatable boat carrying about one ton of explosives and two rubber mannequins to deceive military forces of its intent as it headed toward the port of Misurata.

Defense Systems

Army seeks goggles for soldiers to drive ground robots

The Army wants goggles that would enable a soldier to navigate a ground robot.

Defense Systems

Where was the stealth helo in bin Laden raid modified?

The H-60 Black Hawk helicopter used in the May 2 raid on Osama bin Laden's compound might have been modified with stealth technologies and materials at Sikorsky's Hawk Works near Elmira, N.Y.

Defense Systems

Special Ops to expand unmanned aircraft arsenal

The Special Operations Command is moving closer to the award this summer of a contract for a new mid-endurance unmanned aircraft system.

Defense Systems

Army takes a fresh look at unmanned recon choppers

Army officials said they are preparing to field unmanned spy helicopters by mid-decade.

Defense Systems

Raven UAV falls short for Marines

Marine battalions in Iraq found flaws in AeroVironment's Raven small unmanned aerial vehicle.

Defense Systems

Will lawmakers spare ISR systems from defense cuts?

Members of Congress unanimously praise ISR systems in wake of bin Laden raid, but are divided on whether to consider them for cuts.

Defense Systems

Air Force awards pair of contracts for UAS support

Dynamics Research Corp. will continue to provide engineering and technology services to the Air Force, having won a pair of two-year delivery orders worth a combined $24.5 million.

Defense Systems

New missile warning satellite launched into orbit

A military satellite designed to substantially boost the Air Force's missile defense and detection capabilities was launched into space May 7 atop an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket.

Defense Systems

Are bin Laden's hard drives an intelligence goldmine?

Fresh drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen and the rounding up of 40 suspects in Abbottabad, Pakistan, with ties to slain terrorist eader Osama bin Laden might be part of the intelligence windfall resulting from hard drives seized in the May 2 compound raid.

Defense Systems

Northrop's Firebird ISR aircraft to fly in Empire Challenge

Northrop Grumman Corp. will demonstrate its newly developed, optionally piloted Firebird aircraft at the Defense Department's Empire Challenge exercise that will begin May 23 in Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

Defense Systems

Small unmanned systems play outsized role in tactical operations

Technological advances for unmanned aircraft systems programs have facilitated new intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions for soldiers and Marines.

Defense Systems

Boeing's Phantom Ray completes first test flight

The Phantom Ray unmanned aircraft system built by Boeing Co. successfully completed its first flight on April 27 at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Defense Systems

Terrain offers clues to choppers used in bin Laden raid

Although the exact chopper types used to infiltrate the Osama bin Laden mansion are unknown, the surrounding terrain offers a clue.

Defense Systems

Air Force seeks tiny UAV that can paint targets

The Air Force wants assistance from industry in developing a miniature unmanned aerial vehicle that could drop "dust" on a confirmed or suspected enemy soldier or terrorist, thus allowing them to be tracked from a distance.

Defense Systems

Want to connect with a hosted payload? Alliance will play matchmaker.

A group that wants to serve as a resource for government on hosted payload capabilities met for the first time in April at the National Space Symposium.

Defense Systems

'Invisible' commandos might stalk future battlefields

Researchers are looking into a variety of technologies to hide special forces from enemy sensors, while also providing improved night vision and situational awareness.

Defense Systems

Latest Apache net-enabled for battlefield

The Army’s Block III Apache helicopter will have a family of sensors and data links built into it that will enable pilots to exchange video and data with soldiers on the ground and nearby manned and unmanned aircraft.