Fixed-wing unmanned aircraft are Air Force's best near-space

Posted at: Wed Feb 15th, 2006

More so than balloons and airships, high-flying unmanned aircraft are the best near-term option for the Air Force to exploit the untapped region of "near space" for persistent overhead observation, information gathering and communications relay, according to a ...

Joint Strike Fighter Engine Fight Continues

Posted at: Wed Feb 15th, 2006

General Electric and Britain's Rolls-Royce are stepping up their fight on Capitol Hill to save a multibillion-dollar engine program President Bush scrapped from his 2007 budget request.

nEUROn UCAV Project Rolling Down the Runway

Posted at: Wed Feb 15th, 2006

In November 2005, DID noted a Forecast International report on the future UAV market that forecast trouble for the proposed six-nation nEUROn Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) project. In the end, however, Sweden signed on. The project is now rolling down the runway with a EUR 405 million budget, w...

Prototype Global Hawk flies home after 4,000 combat hours

Posted at: Wed Feb 15th, 2006

SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- A high-flying prototype "Airman" is heading home after being deployed more than four years and flying 4,245 hours supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and the Combined Task Force-Horn of Africa.

C-17 halt to cost $8.4B

Posted at: Wed Feb 15th, 2006

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon's plan to mothball production of the C-17 cargo plane in Long Beach would have a devastating effect beyond Southern California, sucking about $8.4 billion from the economy and eliminating more than 25,000 jobs nationwide, a new federal...