“Of all people, it’s the ‘space warmongers’ doing the most to try to sustain the (space) environment,” one DoD official said.

House appropriators rejected Trump’s plan to put satellite regulation under the Commerce Department and chide Secretary Wilbur Ross for his refusal to testify on the 2020 budget request.

The Air Force can’t regulate civilian satellites. The White House wants the Commerce Department to do it. But Democrats say FAA.

UPDATED: ADDS Detailed Boeing Comment On “Being Much More Efficient” WASHINGTON: Boeing will probably deliver the first of the “low risk” KC-46 airborne tankers at least six months later than planned, the Air Force said this morning. “The Air Force will continue to support Boeing’s efforts to execute the program, however, the Air Force assessment… Keep reading →

The military is devoting more and more attention to the threat of hostile drones on the battlefield, but what to do about the dangers posed by tiny micro-drones, especially in urban areas, where simply shooting them down isn’t usually a good option? Eight finalists in a technology challenge sponsored by the Department of Defense, Department… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: As the crisis over China’s self-declared “air defense identification zone” hits its tenth day with no signs of de-escalation, leading Republican lawmaker Rep. Randy Forbes questioned an apparent concession by the administration over commercial flights. Meanwhile, South Korea is contemplating expanding its own long-standing ADIZ to challenge China’s — but it might do so in a… Keep reading →

UPDATED: CORRECTED AUG. 14 AUVSI: Northrop Grumman is pitching a new method of drone pilot training to the Air Force and U.S. Customs and Border Protection based on a business model likely to gain in popularity as the drone revolution expands into civilian airspace: “fee for service.” Rather than training pilots on valuable MQ-1 Predators and… Keep reading →

GILLIAM COUNTY, OREGON: This isolated test site in rural Oregon is where Boeing subsidiary Insitu takes its drones “to torture them,” said site manager Jerry McWithey. Temperates soar to 110 degrees in summer and plummet to 10 degrees — with 50-knot winds — in winter. The hot-and-cold ordeal the drones go through is a microcosm… Keep reading →

UAV group AUVSI to FAA (http://bit.ly/Se6I1u): Get moving on test program for drones in US airspace, which Congress wanted by Aug. 12th. SydneyFreedberg

Washington: Unmanned military aircraft may soon have a permanent home in U.S. commercial airspace, according to a Defense Department official. The Pentagon and the Federal Aviation Administration are carving out between four to 10 “bubbles” in civilian airspace above the United States to test UAS, Steve Pennington, executive director of the Defense Policy Board on… Keep reading →