Schoomaker wants to get close—real close—to the Air Force in the use of unmanned aerial systems (formerly UAVs). He said he would like to see Air Force and Army UASes operating over the battlefield in “a single box”—that is, with some sort of common direction and control. The UAS formations should be filled with troops who can work on Army, Air Force, Marine, and Navy UAVs “seamlessly” through network technology, training, and integration efforts, the Army Chief told reporters. He praised the joint UAV Center of Excellence at Creech AFB, Nev., which is leading efforts to develop standards and training between services. Schoomaker added that current and future integration efforts will create “expeditionary flexibility.”
While the Space Force is still making long-term plans to establish high-fidelity live and virtual test and training ranges in the coming years, officials say they're also working with operators to identify near-term gaps and quickly field capabilities to address them.
