The Marine Corps wants to ensure all the right data can flow between its small units operating forward and their joint and coalition partners in theater.
Attacks on critical infrastructure — food and water delivery, health care services, defense contracting and more — could hamper U.S. military response.
The decision marks the service’s most significant step yet as it aims to create a series of drones using autonomous software to fly alongside piloted jets.
Overhauling Australia’s overhead defenses is expected to generate hundreds of local jobs as well as open the door to a multibillion-dollar export market.