Next-gen UAVs grow in form and popularity Fighter-jet sized
drones require high degree of autonomy - By Henry Kenyon - Aug
22, 2011 Unmanned aircraft have been used in combat for years,
but they have either been large reconnaissance platforms or
smaller surveillance/attack types. The next generation of
robotic aircraft is taking shape and it consists of fighter-jet
sized aircraft designed to operate in heavily contested airspace
to attack high-value targets. An update on the progress of two
of the most mature of these programs was provided Aug. 16 by top
aerospace industry officials at the Association of Unmanned
Vehicle Systems International Conference in Washington D.C. DOD
stuck in IT 'Stone Age,' top Pentagon official says The two
platforms are Boeing’s Phantom Ray and Northrop Grumman’s X-47B
unmanned combat aerial system (UCAS). The Phantom Ray is a
company-sponsored technology demonstrator, and the X-47B is part
of a Navy program. Both aircraft made their initial flights this
year. Developed with compa