The U.S. Air Force has awarded an L-3 Communications division a contract to develop 34 units of Predator Mission Aircrew Training System simulators, DefenseWorld.net reported Wednesday. Vishwanath Patil writes L-3 Link will supply PMATS simulators that will be used to train the Air Force and Air National Guard pilots and sensor operator crews of General Atomics-built […] More

Cox Construction has broken ground on a new training facility for the General Atomics-built MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aerial system in California under a $26 million contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, the Army reported Jan. 14. A groundbreaking ceremony took place at the site Jan. 12 with district and service branch officials […] More

The Center for a New American Security has appointed nine executives from the defense, consulting and financial industries to the organization’s board of advisers. CNAS said Thursday that each appointee will serve a three-year term and aims to help inform the debate over U.S. national security issues. “Their engagement on key topics will be invaluable to furthering […] More

Ray Duquette, president and general manager of CAE‘s U.S. arm, has said the company builds simulation technology to replicate what the company believes will happen to pilots during military or commercial aircraft flights, the Tampa Tribune reported Saturday. “We do both training and mission rehearsal with multiple simulators networked,” Duquette told Tribune reporter Yvette Hammett in an interview. “We […] More

An RnR Market Research report predicts the military unmanned aerial vehicles market will achieve a 6 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years. The company said Wednesday large defense UAVs that can perform surveillance, intelligence gathering, target designation, fire support and strike missions accounted for a total of about 76 percent market share during […] More

QinetiQ North America has been awarded a $16 million contract to provide control technology for launch and recovery platforms that General Atomics is building for integration onto a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. QNA said Tuesday it will assemble and test control software and hardware of the  Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arresting Gear for the USS John F. Kennedy currently under […] More

Gene Colabatistto, CAE‘s group president for defense and security, has said the company is eyeing new unmanned aircraft programs as it aims for a bigger share of the pilot training services market, National Defense Magazine reported Thursday. Sandra Erwin writes CAE has helped the U.S. Air Force train around 1,500 aircrews a year to operate General Atomics-built Predator […] More

Lt. Gen. Robert Otto has touted the U.S. Air Force’s Open Mission Systems standard as performing well and so he said the service plans to expand the program, Breaking Defense reported Monday. Richard Whittle writes the Open Mission Systems standard is intended to adapt a cell phone application-based model to subcontracts as the service branch seeks […] More

A MarketsandMarkets report forecasts the value of the global unmanned aerial vehicles market to hit $14.9 billion in 2020, with an 8.12 percent compound annual growth rate from 2015 to 2020. The research firm said Tuesday the UAV market’s value reached $10.1 billion this year and North America accounted for about 65.53 percent market share. Technological […] More

The U.S. Army has asked industry about available smaller weapons that the military service can integrate onto its fleet of General Atomics-built MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft systems, Flightglobal reported Wednesday. James Drew writes the Army’s existing Gray Eagles are built to launch up to four 106-pound Hellfire air-to-ground missiles. “We would like increased range,” […] More

The U.S. Air Force could start to use laser weapons in combat missions within five years, Ars Technica reported Friday. Air Force Gen. Hawk Carlisle told the Air Force Association Air & Space Conference this week he believes directed-energy weapons pods could be installed in a fighter plane “very soon,” Sean Gallagher reports. “That day is a lot closer than I think a […] More

NASA and three aeronautical technology firms have collaborated to demonstrate the collision avoidance functions of an Ikhana unmanned aerial system at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, California. Ikhana worked to alert a remote pilot or maneuvered itself to avoid approaching aircraft while it flew over California’s high desert region, NASA said Thursday. […] More