dronecenter.bard.edu

(The Boston Globe) Chinese drone maker DJI and the Los Angeles Fire Department announced a new partnership to test and field a range of DJI drones for emergency response operations. The U. S. Marine Corps is looking to integrate autonomous capabilities into two Kaman K-MAX helicopter drones as it explores ways to reduce the need for human pilots in some of the service’s airborne operations. The U. S. Marine Corps has contracted SAIC to build two prototypes of a reconnaissance armored combat vehicle with the ability to deploy and control drones and unmanned ground vehicles. (Associated Press) At FlightGlobal, Garrett Reim examines the U. S. Army’s requirements for the Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System, the planned replacement for the RQ-7 Shadow.

The U. S. Navy awarded Northrop Grumman Systems a $7.2 million contract modification for material associated with the MQ-4C Triton. (DoD) The U. S. Navy awarded Northrop Grumman Systems a $12.9 million contract modification for upgrades to three MQ-4C Tritons. At Air Force Magazine, Rachel S. Cohen looks at what the Skyborg drone prototype reveals about the U. S. Air Force’s vision for future drones. Also at Air Force Magazine, Rachel S. Cohen examines the U. S. Air Force’s plans to deploy directed-energy counter-drone systems.

(DoD) The U. S. Navy awarded Insitu a $17.5 million contract modification for sustainment and support services for Afghanistan’s ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle sites. (DoD) The U. S. Navy awarded Boeing a $46.7 million contract modification for work on the Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle program. (FBO) The U. S. Navy awarded ArgenTech Solutions $45 million contract to provide support for the sensors on the Army’s MQ-1C Gray Eagle and Sky Warrior drones. (DoD) URSA announced that the U. S. Air Force’s AFWERX has awarded it a $1.9 million contract to integrate forensics systems into its counter-drone “kill chain.

The plaintiffs argue that Germany’s purported provision of counterterrorism intelligence, as well as the usage rights it grants for Ramstein Air Base, a U. S. military facility located on German soil (in Rhineland-Palatinate), constitute direct support for U.S. drone operations. The complaint alleges that “Germany is violating its constitutional and human rights obligation to protect because it has, thus far, not taken appropriate measures to prevent the U.S. from using its bases and facilities on German territory for drone attacks. In March 2019 the Higher Administrative Court of Münster ruled on appeal that the German government must take measures to ensure that any U.S. operations that involve the Ramstein facility must fully comply with international law. However, the court upheld the portion of the Cologne ruling that the judicial branch could not compel the government to ban support for U.S. operations outright.