Pentagon develops unmanned spy planes

The Pentagon is on the hunt for unmanned spy planes that can be sent to any location within an hour and remain over the hot spot gathering intelligence for at least five years without touching down, reports Sciam.com.

The Rapid Eye could be sent anywhere around the world in an hour by travelling inside a ballistic missile and exiting the missile's shell when its destination is reached.

The Department of Defence wants to develop spy satellites that can detect a military force mobilising halfway around the world, enabling it to immediately assess possible threats to national security.

Zebra Technologies has begun shipments to the US Air Force (USAF) to provide RFID printer/encoders for the USAF Cargo Movement Operation System (CMOS) operating at more than 214 locations worldwide, says CNN Money.

The planned RFID initiative is expected to improve overall efficiency and productivity of the USAF's and the Department of Defence's supply chain and other logistical operations.

CMOS is a department support system designed to automate and streamline logistical processes and cargo movement through the strategic application of Automatic Identification Technology.

Aerojet has won a $3.5 million contract from Raytheon Missile Systems to continue risk reduction efforts on the propulsion system for the Missile Defence Agency's Network Centric Airborne Defence Element (NCADE) programme, says CNN Money.

NCADE is an air-launched weapon system designed to intercept ballistic missiles in the boost or terminal flight phases, thus increasing the effectiveness of the country's ballistic missile defence.

The Aerojet propulsion system uses an advanced higher performance and lower toxicity propellant when compared to traditional propellants. The green propellant, Hydroxylammonium Nitrate, designated as AF-M315E, was developed and produced by the US Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base.