The Air For
ce Research Lab tested the Arcturus T-16 unmanned aerial vehicle May 7 during the Northern Edge 2008 exercise at the Pacific Alaska Range Complex to gauge its ability to autonomously track ground targets and provide real-time imagery that can be used for targeting. “We’ve done complete tracking of target vehicles where the aircraft is controlled by the tracking algorithm [and] we don’t have to do any man-in-the-loop intervention,” said Capt. Samuel Hart, AFRL’s unmanned services program manager. “We tell it to track the vehicle and it auto-tracks and follows it around corners, turns, behind trees, and things like that,” he added. Arcturus-UAV is a company based in Rohnert Park, Calif., about 50 miles north of San Francisco. The T-16 can carry electro-optical and infrared cameras as well as communications payloads, Red Jenson, the company’s chief pilot, told the Daily Report. Carrying a 10-pound payload, the T-16 can fly around 16 hours. It could also carry mini munitions, such as the Spike missile that the Navy has been developing. Arcturus’s approach is to provide “straightforward good flying platforms” that are modular and highly adaptable, Jensen said. The company’s UAVs are in use with research labs across the services, he said. (Includes Eielson report by USMC Sgt. Rocky Smith)
Air Force Wargames for a Summer of Major Exercises
Jan. 31, 2025
Air Force wargamers gathered in Alabama earlier this month to help leaders prepare for a sweeping series of exercises this summer that will be among the biggest in recent service history. At the heart of the exercise series is Resolute Force Pacific, but officials want to integrate REFORPAC with other exercises.