Earlier this month, the Air Force set a non-combat record by flying six MQ-9 Reapers and four MQ-1 Predators, both made by General Atomics, simultaneously over Holloman Air Force base in New Mexico. According to an Air Force release, the 29th Attack Squadron, 9th Attack Squadron and the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron all participated in the […] More

Raytheon will develop a new power converter and power management controller for future U.S. Navy surface ships and submarines, the company announced Wednesday. The company received two Phase 2 contracts through the Compact Power Conversion Technologies program, run by the Office of Naval Research. “As the U.S. Navy develops the platforms and mission systems that ready our […] More

Northrop Grumman will provide the U.S. Army 44 wide area surveillance radars for General Atomics-made Gray Eagle drones, increasing the total number of radars under contract to 174. Northrop said the Army exercised an additional contract option, where STARLite radar deliveries will begin in April 2013 and complete in March 2014 Warfighters on the ground […] More

The role of the UAV in the U.S. Air Force is changing according to a DefenseNews article detailing the latest Red Flag combat exercise in Nevada. In the premier training event at Nellis AFB, UAV“™s were used to search for Scud missile launchers and persons of interest on the ground. This was the first time […] More

Michael Huerta, acting Federal Aviation Administration administrator, recently addressed attendees of a conference in Las Vegas on unmanned vehicle systems, reports W.J. Hennigan for the Los Angeles Times. This was the first time in its 39 year history that an FAA administrator addressed the audience. According to Hennigan, the trade show attracted 8,000 participants and 500 […] More

The Federal Aviation Administration released two documents listing government and private organizations who are authorized to fly drones in the U.S. public air space, the Electronic Frontier Foundation reports.  The agency provided the information as a result of the EFF“™s Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for information on the agency’s drone authorization program.  The agency included […] More

The U.S. Air Force has changed its drone purchasing strategy as the branch plays catch up in sifting through the large amounts of video and still-photo data its drone sensors captured, Wired reports.  Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told reporters Thursday that drone intelligence data outpaces the Air Force’s manpower to analyze it.  Donley said […] More

While Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have proven their effectiveness in military theaters around the world, especially Iraq and Afghanistan, their use in the United States is currently limited to restricted airspace and certain sections of the Mexican and Canadian borders. The use of UAVs in American airspace is a contentious issue for amateur pilots and […] More

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has awarded Westinghouse Electric Co. and General Atomics a $40 million contract for “conceptual design and planning work” on the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). The award has the potential to signal an upswing in contracts being issued to firms in support of the NGNP.  Chu and the Administration […] More

Gerry Connolly (D) is the freshman Congressman from Virginia’s 11th District, including parts of Fairfax and Prince William Counties.  He replaced Tom Davis (R) after Tom’s retirement last year, and has some big shoes to fill as an advocate for the GovCon community.  Here are some highlights from our interview: I think there“™s a looming personnel […] More

Northrop Grumman facilitated the thermal vacuum testing of a NASA spacecraft element designed to support a space science observatory. James Webb Space Telescope“™s spacecraft element was subjected to extreme temperatures during the trial in Redondo Beach, Calif., the company said Thursday.

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BAE Systems and Dassault Aviation have formed an alliance and submitted proposals to build a demonstration vehicle for the U.K. and France’s future unmanned combat air systems, Defense News reported Wednesday. Andrew Chuter and Pierre Tran write the team has finished preparation work for the project and the two European nations could award a contract for […] More