Richard Thomas

A U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft assigned to the 123rd Airlift Wing, Kentucky Air National Guard, departs Karup Air Base, Denmark, June 8, 2026, for an airlift mission to Norway. Photo courtesy of U.S. Air National Guard by Lt. Col. Dale Greer and Merlin Labs.
Air

Merlin Labs: Bringing Autonomy to the Air Force’s Bread-and-Butter Fleet

By Richard Thomas

The U.S. Air Force’s autonomy future may rest less on next-generation platforms than on the 400 C-130Js and 300 KC-135s…

230503-N-GR718-1093 A West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare operator launches a Puma RQ-20, an unmanned, hand-launched, intelligence gathering aircraft system, from a combatant craft (assault) during U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Unmanned System Battle Problem (UxS IBP). UxS IBP 23 is a U.S. Pacific Fleet experiment, executed by U.S. 3rd Fleet, operationalizing multi-domain employment of unmanned systems to create Fleet warfighting advantages. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chelsea D. Meiller)
Air, Business News, Military, Sensors

Inside PEO-TIS: SOCOM’s Tactical Information Systems Office

By Richard Thomas

At SOF Week 2026 in Tampa, the program managers of U.S. Special Operations Command’s Program Executive Office for Tactical Information…

A Skydio X2D Small Unmanned Aerial System drone is flown down the flight line at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, Sept. 8, 2023. The SUAS drone, belonging to the 436th Mission Generation Group Continuous Process Improvement office, is used to provide aircraft over-the-wing and tail inspection capabilities, support facility inspections for the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron and situational awareness support for the 436th Security Forces Squadron and emergency management personnel. (U.S. Air Force photo by Roland Balik)
Air, Business News

The FCC’s New Role at the Center of the U.S. Drone Market

By Richard Thomas

A supply chain security framework that began with a sweeping December 2025 prohibition on foreign-produced UAS is now generating its…

A team of Department of Defense drone operators and experts test the technical capabilities of various Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) during a Defense Innovation Unit led prize challenge to identify platforms, components, and capabilities for Blue UAS, which clears and validates flying platforms are safe to fly, cyber-secure, and meet DOD requirements, at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, on Nov. 2-6, 2024. The Blue UAS Refresh Challenge included more than 35 platforms and companies, and an expert team of 40 military drone end-users with participation from each service branch and several major program offices in support of the Department’s ability to quickly scale and field commercially produced drone technologies for military and government use. (DOD photo by Devon Bistarkey, Defense Innovation Unit)
Air, Business News, Cyber, Military

FCC Opens Drone Comment Period as Covered List Takes Shape

By Richard Thomas

The Federal Communications Commission is soliciting public comment on a broad slate of regulatory reforms aimed at accelerating domestic unmanned…

British Army soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, The Royal Yorkshire Regiment scan a field for unmanned aerial systems during Project Flytrap at Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels Training Area, Hohenfels, Germany, June 9, 2025. Drones flew near U.S. and U.K. training lanes, which allowed for testing and feedback on new, low-cost, and portable counter-unmanned aerial systems. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elijah Magaña)
Air, Business News, Cyber, Military

Europe’s UAS and Counter-UAS Reset: NATO Standardization, EU Industrial Policy

By Richard Thomas

Europe is moving from episodic counter-UAS buys toward something closer to an architecture: shared standards, testable assurance, common data formats,…