The Air Force’s Global Hawk high-altitude reconnaissance UAV has become the first unmanned system to receive an airworthiness certification stamp of approval. The Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, recognized the momentous event with a ceremony on Jan. 25. This means that the FAA has faith in the UAV’s reliability in flight, now that it has passed more than 500 technical criteria, according to ASC officials. Next, they want to take the Navy version of the Global Hawk through the same process.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.