Military destroys own Global Hawk with stray test signal
Anyone in enemy territory is tracked with 20-meter precision by a system that was once brought down by a stray flight termination signal from its own side.
By Marcus Boone ·
UAV
Two people can spy from 13,000 feet using SAIC's trailer-towed drones
Those watched from 13,000 feet remain unknown, as SAIC built drones that could be hauled behind a nondescript van and operated by two people to watch without being seen.
By Marcus Boone ·
Northrop Grumman Took $93 Million to Paint Targets from 16 Kilometers
Targets were painted for guided munitions from 16 kilometers away to sanitize targeting and tighten the sensor-to-shooter loop across naval battle groups.
By Marcus Boone ·
$10 Million Per Unit Spent as ARPA Bypassed Procurement Rules
Oversight was stripped away via Section 845 Authority to build a stealth drone for precision strikes, a process that allowed a one-page specification to justify $10 million per unit.
By Marcus Boone ·
Navy hid autonomous 20-pound warhead from Congressional oversight
Navy operators hid a system not of record from Congress to deploy a 20-pound warhead for autonomous attacks against command centers and SAM launchers.
By Miriam Adler ·
Boeing and DARPA Gamble $24 Million on 375-Knot Hybrid Drone
Intelligence payloads and flight results remain hidden in military and Boeing archives despite a $24 million gamble to build a high-speed system for confined Navy decks.
By Miriam Adler ·
Pentagon linked 24 command systems to a universal UAV remote
Military technicians required minimal training to operate Predator and Outrider fleets after the Pentagon spent years dismantling incompatible surveillance silos.
By Marcus Boone ·
Egyptian Air Force Monitored a 1,400-Mile Radius With 56 Scarab Drones
Military installations and civilian gatherings were watched without consent from Kom Oshim Air Base, where a three-man crew captured physical evidence on wet film.
By Miriam Adler ·
Air Force scripts domestic drone surveillance through 2047
US citizens are treated as logistical problems to be solved in a decades-long effort to bypass Fourth Amendment protections and integrate military drones into the domestic sky.
By Miriam Adler ·
Three-man teams risked hostile fire to fly 8.5-pound reconnaissance tools
Targets were monitored by a tool designed to be difficult to see or hear, while ground crews remained exposed to hostile fire during launch and recovery.
By Miriam Adler ·
Pentagon planned $851 million for failed Outrider drone fleet
Seven percent of drones were expected to vanish into foreign terrain in a joint surveillance project that was eventually deemed inadequate to justify further production.
By Miriam Adler ·
US Army Spent $2.1 Billion on Hunter UAVs That Crashed 20 Times
Defense officials ignored 'unacceptable' test ratings for years, pushing a system too large for airlift through the production pipeline until the program was terminated in 1996.
By Miriam Adler ·
BHTI bet in-house R&D dollars on Eagle Eye after government cuts
BHTI developed the Eagle Eye in the shadows using its own money for years after the government claimed it had no further Vertical Take Off and Landing requirements.
By Marcus Boone ·