A new software application designed to steer the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift fleet through holes in an enemy’s advanced air defenses is ready for flight demonstrations, Northrop Grumman says.

U.S. Army officials said on Oct. 11 that they will soon launch a competition for industry to supply a batch of contractor-owned, contractor-operated business jets equipped with a suite of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance payloads. 

DARPA has launched its Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay program, an effort to demonstrate the long-distance wireless transmission of energy using lasers and UAVs as relays.

Elbit Systems confirmed that it has secured a contract with the Royal Thai Navy for its Hermes 900 uncrewed aerial system.

The demonstrations are a key step in Lockheed Martin's plans to develop private 5G ultra wideband communications technology for military applications. 

The upgrade will allow the AGS aircraft to detect and track vessels moving on the water's surface and identify noncooperative targets.

DARPA has announced its Steerable Optical Aperture Receivers program, an effort to identify promising new approaches to optical beam steering in miniature form for use in laser communications or LiDAR.

Elbit Systems says it has secured a contract for EW training through simulation with an air force in an unspecified Asia-Pacific nation.