Northrop Grumman has flight tested the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node—an Internet-based communications relay and information server that, flying at extremely high altitude, extends the range of line-of-sight radios to relay data to airborne and surface-based units. It can even link, via satellite, to distant command centers. USAF and Northrop flew the BACN aboard a high-flying NASA WB-57 test aircraft, acting a surrogate for USAF’s RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV. Officials plan to evaluate the system further during the Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment in April.
Recent Russian and Chinese tests of space weapons are a "natural consequence of military behaviors," and the U.S. must now "mitigate this threat," the Space Force's operations chief said. “When you are behind, you look for ways to seek vulnerabilities of your adversary and your competitor so that you can…