Security Forces airmen deployed to Southwest Asia are finding an invaluable force protection asset in the form of the diminutive Desert Hawk, a small unmanned aerial vehicle that two people launch via a bungee cord and “fly” with a laptop, reports Air Force journalist MSgt. Jason Tudor. Known formally as the Force Protection Airborne Security System, the seven-pound UAV, made of foam plastic, performs day and night local reconnaissance and surveillance missions. Each FPASS comprises six aircraft (five are backups), a ground control station, and an antenna.
Space Force acquisition leaders were already looking to see if they could shift some of their biggest programs to use commercial services or technology, but one of President Donald Trump's executive orders, signed April 9, that could super-charge that effort.