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… Keep reading →

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… Keep reading →

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?”… Keep reading →

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… Keep reading →

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… Keep reading →

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… Keep reading →

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… Keep reading →

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… Keep reading →

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.

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… Keep reading →