This month marks the 25th anniversary of GPS reaching full operational capability. We mark the occasion with a special feature exploring the history and significance of GPS, as well as ongoing and future developments.


Also in this issue, we speak to DARPA and Lockheed Martin about the first stage of Blackjack, a project developing satellites for the US Department of Defense, and why the programme is moving away from traditional satellites in geosynchronous earth orbit in favour of a constellation of smaller low earth orbit satellites.


A cornerstone of NATO is the ability to get troops from the US to Europe in order to defend its member states, and the infrastructure enabling this was tested during Defender Europe 20 earlier this year. We speak to US Army Europe and the Atlantic Council about the mobility lessons learned from the exercise.


We also find out how the US Air Force is getting on board the urban air mobility revolution with a competition for military ‘flying taxis’, explore the benefits of tethered over wireless UAVs for military applications, and learn how the integration of AI into shipyard operations could help solve maintenance scheduling problems for the US Navy.