DefenceTalkThe inaugural launch of a ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle in Helmand, Afghanistan marked new intelligence gathering capability for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. The Helmand ScanEagle site is the first of eight in Afghanistan that will be operational in the next two and a half years. “The ScanEagle systems provide the Afghan National […]https://www.defencetalk.com/scaneagle-uavs-enhance-intelligence-capability-for-afghanistan-67283/

DefenceTalkA British Airways plane struck an object believed to be a drone on Sunday as it was coming in for landing at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, police said. An investigation has been launched into the incident, which follows a string of near misses involving drones and is believed to be the first case of a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/suspected-drone-hits-plane-during-heathrow-landing-67258/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon wants to cut the number of US peacekeeping troops in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, partly because of the growing threat from the Islamic State group, an official said Tuesday. About 700 US troops participate in a UN operation established after Israel and Egypt signed a 1979 peace deal and agreed for a Multinational Force […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-wants-drones-to-replace-some-us-troops-in-sinai-67229/

DefenceTalkAn estimated seven million drones will fly in US skies by 2020, nearly tripling the number expected to be in circulation by the end of the year, the Federal Aviation Administration said. “Unmanned aircraft systems will be the most dynamic growth sector within aviation,” the agency said in a report, which forecast that some 2.5 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/number-of-us-drones-will-nearly-triple-by-2020-faa-67173/

DefenceTalkSoldiers with 3rd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, provide a set of eyes in the sky in the fight against Daesh through the use of Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems. Under the Army’s aviation restructure initiative, UAS can be used for attack missions and to supplement manned missions against the enemies of the U.S. and its allies. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/unmanned-aerial-system-more-than-just-remote-controlled-planes-67136/

DefenceTalkDeep in the Nevada desert is a top secret, little-known US military facility known as Area 6, rumored to be the Pentagon’s test ground for cutting-edge unmanned aerial vehicles. “I had not heard about it,” claimed John Pike, director of a Virginia-based defense news site, according to the Las Vegas Review. Pike was referring to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/inside-the-pentagons-drone-proving-ground-67027/

DefenceTalkThe White House for the first time will release casualty figures from its controversial drone program, officials said on Monday, amid criticism that the airstrikes often kill civilians instead of the intended terror targets. Lisa Monaco, President Barack Obama’s top homeland security adviser, said the administration will publish a review of its air strikes on […]https://www.defencetalk.com/white-house-to-release-data-on-drone-strikes-66981/

DefenceTalkThe Defence Secretary and Prime Minister visited Amiens, France where a ground-breaking new £1.54bn project was announced to build a prototype of the next generation of unmanned aircraft. The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project builds on the successful £120million joint feasibility study undertaken after the last UK France Summit in 2014. At the summit, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/france-uk-future-combat-air-system-project-moves-forward-66931/

DefenceTalkGeneral Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) today announced the successful first flight of Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper Extended Range (ER) Long Wing, retrofitted with improved long-endurance wings with greater internal fuel capacity and additional hard points for carrying external stores. The flight occurred on February 18 at GA-ASI’s Gray Butte Flight Test Facility in Palmdale, Calif., […]https://www.defencetalk.com/predator-b-uav-extended-range-conducts-first-flight-with-long-wings-upgrade-66899/

DefenceTalkEach year, the U.S. Army conducts a series of technology demonstrations known as the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiments, or AEWE. The event is the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command’s live, force-on-force experiment. AEWE places technologies under development by industry and Army researchers into the hands of Soldiers for early and credible feedback from the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-army-selects-3-d-printed-uas-concept-for-future-experiment-66817/