MQ-9 Reaper

Next Navy Helos Will Be Mix of Manned, Unmanned

An MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aircraft system from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 35 performs ground turns aboard the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) in May 2015. US Navy photo

The Navy is pursuing both manned and unmanned platforms for the aircraft that will replace its rotary-wing fleet, according to a service official.

Rear Adm. Gregory Harris, who leads the chief of naval operation’s air warfare directorate (OPNAV N98), said during a Navy League breakfast this week that...

Lawmakers Question Who Will Shepherd Navy’s Future Unmanned Fleet

Maintainers from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VX-1) analyze diagnostics from the MQ-8C Fire Scout on the flight deck of the Independence variant littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) on June 21, 2018. US Navy photo.

When the Navy moved from a conventionally powered fleet to a nuclear one, Adm. Hyman Rickover oversaw the transitions for decades, remaining in uniform until the age of 82 as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy” to ensure the sea service adopted the new technology in a precise...

$600M Maritime Drone Sale to Taiwan Approved by State Dept.; Beijing Complains

Artist’s concept of an MQ-9B-SeaGuardian. General Atomics Image

The State Department has given approval to a new arms sale package to Taiwan that includes four unmanned maritime patrol aircraft based on the MQ-9 Reaper platform, according to a Tuesday announcement from Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The potential sale of the “weapons-ready” General Atomic SeaGuardian MQ-9Bs will include maritime radars, data links, ground stations, engines and spares to sustain the aircraft, according to...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/04/600m-maritime-drone-sale-to-taiwan-approved-by-state-dept-beijing-complains

Report: Unmanned Systems Could Track and Fight Submarines At Less Cost Than Manned Ships, Planes

With the Pentagon pitching a future naval force design that calls for as many as 240 unmanned and optionally manned ships on the surface and under the sea, a natural question is: what will they all do?

The Navy has pitched a range of missions for its unmanned surface and undersea vessels, ranging from gathering intelligence to laying mines to launching missiles – the latter of which Congress strongly opposes at this point in the USV’s development – but few concrete concepts of operations have...

https://news.usni.org/2020/10/19/report-unmanned-systems-could-track-and-fight-submarines-at-less-cost-than-manned-ships-planes

Marines Placing Small UAVs into Ground Combat Element, As Aviators Still Refining Large UAS Requirement

U.S. Marines with Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron (VMU) 2 launch a RQ-21A Blackjack for Assault Support Tactics 2 at Canon Air Defense Complex (P111), Yuma, Ariz., Oct. 12, 2016. US Marine Corps photo.

While the Marine Corps is still charting its path forward for large drones, the service is moving smaller unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) into its ground combat units.

Speaking over the weekend at a panel during the Tailhook Association’s virtual symposium, Deputy Commandant of the Marine...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/15/marines-placing-small-uavs-into-ground-combat-element-as-aviators-still-refining-large-uas-requirement

Report: Fight Against China Requires Navy to Field Modern Unmanned Eyes In The Sky

“A fleet without eyes cannot fight,” said Seth Cropsey, a senior fellow at the Washington think tank, quoting the maxim when discussing the report he co-authored, “If You Can’t See ‘Em, You Can’t Shoot ‘Em.”

The U.S. needs long-range and persistent eyes to provide intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting (ISR/T) “before conflict.” The rationale, Cropsey said, is that today Beijing “can concentrate forces” quickly to strike Taiwan or assert its will in the South China Sea using...

https://news.usni.org/2019/12/17/report-fight-against-china-requires-navy-to-field-modern-unmanned-eyes-in-the-sky

Navy RQ-4A Surveillance Drone Suffers Major Damage in Middle East

Undated file photo provided by Northrop Grumman, a Navy RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle conducts tests over Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.

A Navy surveillance drone suffered major damage during a takeoff attempt while operating in the Middle East, Navy officials confirmed to USNI News on Thursday.

The service’s $180-million RQ-4A Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstrator (BAMS-D) was attempting to take off from a runway in U.S. Central Command and was hit by a piece of debris...

https://news.usni.org/2019/12/12/navy-rq-4a-surveillance-drone-suffers-major-damage-in-middle-east

Iran Shoots Down $120M Navy Surveillance Drone in ‘Unprovoked Attack’; U.S. Disputes Claims it was Over Iranian Airspace

An undated photo of RQ-4A BAMS-D flying over Maryland. Northrop Grumman photo.

A Navy high-altitude surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down by a surface-to-air missile in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC announced on Thursday.

The IRGC claimed the UAV was operating over Iranian airspace and that the shootdown was to send a “clear message” to Washington, said IRGC commander Gen. Hossein Salami, according to ABC.

“The message is that...

https://news.usni.org/2019/06/20/iran-shoots-down-120m-navy-surveillance-drone-in-unprovoked-attack-u-s-disputes-claims-it-was-over-iranian-airspace

Top Stories 2018: U.S. Marine Corps Acquisition

USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2018. This story is part of USNI News year-end series. 

2018 brought the Marine Corps such rapid advances in its next ground vehicle that the service canceled an interim upgrade program, new details on a large Group 5 unmanned aerial vehicle and a plan to upgrade amphibious warships over time to better support future Marine operations.

Ground Systems

Marine...

https://news.usni.org/2018/12/31/top-stories-2018-u-s-marine-corps-acquisition

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