DoD releases 2013 edition of unmanned systems roadmap

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Defense release its latest roadmap for the future of unmanned systems, which covers the next 25 years.

The report to Congress, which is updated biannually, is intended to offer a vision for the continued integration of unmanned systems into the DoD. The report covers air, ground and maritime systems. It also discusses issues including the fiscal environment, changing military needs and advances in enemy unmanned systems.

“While DoD unmanned systems development funding may taper off over the early part of this decade, unmanned capabilities hold much promise for domestic commercial applications and personal consumer use,” the report notes. “This trend could indeed reduce the price point of these systems for the military, which is good news for the U.S. taxpayer. However, if the technical challenges to unmanned systems development and operations are addressed by accomplishing the technical projects and tasks described in this roadmap, advances in capability can be readily achieved by the Services well beyond what is achievable today.”

You can download the entire roadmap here: 2013 Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap

[ image courtesy of the Department of Defense ]