A new Government Accountability Office report praises operational employment of unmanned aerial vehicles in both Afghanistan and Iraq, but it questions the “jointness” of UAV development. GAO auditors attribute some of their concern to US Central Command, saying CENTCOM “believes communications interoperability and payload commonality problems” occur because of “service specific” development that is “insufficiently attentive to joint needs.” For its part, DOD concurred with recommendations on creating greater interoperability, but it took issue with the GAO assertions that the Pentagon should push for payload commonality. The Pentagon response notes, “Unmanned aircraft payload procurement is dependent on service mission requirements, physical design limitations … and the rapid nature of technology evolutions.” (Read our articles on the fight to control UAVs and future plans for UAVs.)
A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber flew from Europe across the Middle East to the Persian Gulf on July 25 in a 32-hour flight, as conflicts continued to roil the area with U.S. troops coming under attack in Iraq and Syria on July 25 and July 26, U.S. officials told…