DOD’s new unmanned aircraft system strategy paper (DR, 08/12/05) contains a surprise—the US may be flying unmanned “counterair” missions as early as 2020. The study contains a graph (p. 74) showing UASes starting to do the work of F-15s, F-16s, and F-14s in the 2020-25 period. Unmanned systems would complement F/A-22s and F/A-18E/Fs in the 2025-30 period. Unmanned air combat was thought to be much further out than that.
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.