DARPA passed on General Atomics’ dual-hulled design for Liberty Lifter, and said the company was not meeting its “aggressive” schedule and technical goals.
The Army tapped Thales Defense and Security and L3Harris Technologies to furnish combat net radios. Initial orders totaled tens of millions of dollars.
The decision marks the service’s most significant step yet as it aims to create a series of drones using autonomous software to fly alongside piloted jets.
Overhauling Australia’s overhead defenses is expected to generate hundreds of local jobs as well as open the door to a multibillion-dollar export market.
The needs are perhaps most clear for the Navy, and yet even for that service, the technology — and the path to using it more widely — is still maturing.