Sign In
Search
Congress

Pentagon Drones Have Flown Twice the Flying Hours of Manned Aircraft

Frank Wolfe Frank Wolfe
SHARE:
Pentagon Drones Have Flown Twice the Flying Hours of Manned Aircraft
A new CBO study compares the usage of three drones with six manned, ISR aircraft, including the pictured RC-26B. The former Trump administration came under criticism last year after Air National Guard RC-26Bs were used to surveil protests in Minnesota, Arizona, California, and Washington, D.C. --demonstrations that followed George Floyd’s death in police custody in May last year (U.S. Air Force Photo)

Pentagon unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have flown twice the flying hours of manned, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) planes flying missions comparable to those of the drones, per a new Congressional Budget Office analysis of three drones and six manned ISR aircraft. The study, Usage Patterns and Costs of Unmanned Aerial Systems, compares the usage of the U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper and the now retired MQ-1 Predator by General Atomics, and the Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk by Northrop…

Subscriber-only content. Please log in below.

Not a subscriber or registered user yet?

Please contact us at clientservices@accessintel.com or call us at 888-707-5814 (Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET.), to start a free trial, get pricing information, order a reprint, or post an article link on your website.

Recommended

Air Force

Nammo And Firehawk Aerospace Make More Rocket Motor Investments In U.S.

Air Force

Pentagon Joint Energetics Transition Office Delay Cited In Travel Funds Hold

Air Force

After Eight Months, White House Names Nominee To Head NSA And CYBERCOM

Air Force

Defense Authorization Bill Omits Senate Proposal For LRSO Acceleration

Trending

Army Adds CHAOS Industries’ Radar Technology To Acquisition Marketplace
Navy Wants F/A-XX But DoD Still Looking To Balance Industrial Base With F-47
AFRL Seeking Innovations For C-sUAS “Kill Chain And Point Defense”
GD Has Delivered First M1E3 Abrams Tank Prototype, Army Chief Says
U.S. Space Force Considering Upgrades for Three Electromagnetic Warfare Systems

Contract Updates

USTRANSCOM has awarded a firm-fixed price (indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract) – $10,915,926.84,

USTRANSCOM has awarded a firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract, with a face value of $10,915,926.84, to SSA Atlantic LLC, Jacksonville, Florida, (HTC71126DE119). This contract provides Stevedoring and Related Terminal Services (S&RTS) in Florida, at the Ports of Jacksonville. The base…

The Boeing Co. (Ridley Park, Pennsylvania) – $183,163,191.00

The Boeing Co., Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $183,163,191.00 Firm-Fixed Price delivery order modification (Contract Number W91215-16-G-000 H9224122F0002 P00004) for procurement of H-47ER Rotary Wing Aircraft in support of United Kingdom Foreign Military Sales through U.S. Special Operations Command.…

CORRECTION: The contract announced on Dec. 15 2025 (for Southeastern Kentucky Rehabilitation Industries, Corbin) – $14,312,903

CORRECTION: The contract announced on Dec. 15, 2025, for Southeastern Kentucky Rehabilitation Industries,* Corbin, Kentucky (SPE1C1-24-D-N017) for $14,312,903 was announced with an incorrect award date. The correct award date is Dec. 17, 2025.

RGAS LLC (Houston, Texas) – $16,477,807

RGAS LLC,** Houston, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $16,477,807 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SPE4A7-25-R-0788 for various hydrofluorocarbon carbon gases. This was a competitive acquisition with five responses received. This is a one-year base contract with two one-year option…

The Force Multipliers

Force Multipliers

Jags Kandasamy – Latent AI

Force Multipliers

Force Multipliers – Krista McKendree

Force Multipliers

Force Multipliers – Fred Taylor

Force Multipliers

Force Multipliers – Adam Maruyama

Job Feed

Post a Job // Post a Resume