Seeking to pave the way for unmanned aircraft systems to complete a mission beyond direct human control, Lockheed Martin demonstrated a podded, autonomous intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability, the company said. 

Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and the Australian firm CEA Technologies will compete for a long-awaited, ground-based surveillance radar to replace the aging TPS-75, the U.S. Air Force announced on May 11.

A second experiment of advanced battle management and networking technologies delayed by the novel coronavirus since April will be expanded and held in late August or early September, the leader of the U.S. Air Force’s initiative said on May 7. 

The U.S. Air Force will perform a three-week field trial of a prototype high-powered microwave system designed by Raytheon for extended-range defense of air bases from aerial threats.

The U.S. Air Force will host a “virtual industry day” for the Advanced Battle Management System on May 13, via the medium of the Zoom videoconferencing platform. 

Lockheed Martin has entered the second phase of the development for the U.S. Army’s new aircraft pod for the offensive electronic attack mission. 

The U.S. Air Force completed a second round of Skyborg tests in March on a new flying testbed aircraft, but further flights are on hold due to schedule disruption caused by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the service announced on April 22. 

Military secrecy—not poor U.S. Air Force planning—is behind the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) critical assessment of the acquisition strategy for the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said on April 20.