UAV, MQ-9 REAPER

UAV Wing Marks One Year In The Fight Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, the 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander, congratulated Airmen at Creech Air Force Base May 6 as the 432nd Wing marked its first year as the Air Force's only MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle wing. "The 432nd Wing has grown exponentially over the last year, in manpower, demand, flying hours, sorties, technology, reach, support for the warfighter and in battlefield capability," said General Seip. "From day one, the 432nd Wing Airmen have been 'all in' in the support of ongoing operations; particularly in operations Iraqi (Freedom) and Enduring Freedom."
AUV, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Demonstration A major exercise and demonstration of unmanned autonomous undersea vehicles (AUVs) will take place in Narragansett Bay from May 12-23, 2008 during AUVfest 2008. The event is hosted by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport and co-sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Office (NOAA) of Ocean Exploration. Since 1997, the U. S. Navy´s Office of Naval Research has sponsored Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Festivals to expose both the defense and scientific communities to technical advances and common applications in AUV technology. The AUVfest 2008 theme is "Partnership Runs Deep: ONR Unmanned Mine Hunting Technologies help NOAA Explore Sunken History."
24th MQ-1 Predator A significant milestone was reached more than two years ahead of schedule on with the beginning of the 24th MQ-1 Predator combat air patrol in the Global War on Terror. This CAP doubles the 24/7/365 Predator capability of last year two years ahead of the Department of Defense goal of 2010 for 21 Predator CAPs. Predators now supply more than 13,400 hours of full motion video to ground forces every month while conducting armed over-watch, force protection and precision air-to-surface engagements with the AGM-114 Hellfire missile.
Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) Following a series of successful reliability characterization tests, Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received U.S. Government approval to continue development and production of the Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM). During the recent tests, the stealthy standoff cruise missile demonstrated its capabilities across a wide variety of targets – including hardened, underground bunkers and air defense systems.
Freedom (LCS 1) Main Engine Testing The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]-led LCS team recently completed another successful milestone in the production of the nation’s first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) with the light off and testing of Freedom (LCS 1)’s main propulsion diesel engines. The 378-foot Freedom is being built to help the U.S. Navy defeat growing littoral – or close-to-shore – threats and provide access and dominance in coastal water battlespace. Once complete, Freedom will be a fast, maneuverable and networked surface combatant with operational flexibility to execute focused missions, such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare and humanitarian relief. LCS brings a unique combination of high speed, superb maneuverability and a shallow draft, brought together in a special hull form, to enable it to carry out these critical missions.