Morning Coffee 8-18-11

Spc. Raymond Poltera launches an RQ-7B Shadow 200 UAV from a pneumatic launcher at Camp Taji, Iraq Aug. 11, 2008. (U.S. Army photo)

A robust blend of news from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, NAVAIR, the Pentagon and beyond:

• Shadow drone collides with cargo plane in Afghanistan.
• Pictures of the collision damage.
• Marines looking to arm Shadow drones.
• Export controls are killing US drone market?
• Unmanned systems are the defense industry’s “greatest hope.”
• Radar could also be a growth sector.
• Navy open to multiple Fire Scout weapons. (subscription required)
• Navy could field unmanned copter with Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System in 18 months. (subscription required)
• Breaking down UAV data-sharing barriers.
• New photos of Chinese carrier at sea.
• JSF grounding could be lifted by the end of the week. (subscription required)
• Drone survivability will be key in the future.