The Federal Aviation Administration aims to release an initial batch of facility maps for small unmanned aircraft systems by April 27 in a move to help remote pilots depict areas and altitudes near airports where UAS platforms will be allowed to operate.

FAA said Monday the maps are intended to guide drone operators when they apply for Part 107 airspace authorization and help the agency accelerate the application process.

The agency added remote pilots can use the facility maps to align their requests for small UAS operations to with approved locations and altitudes.

FAA expects to issue as many as 200 facility maps on April 27 and said database updates will coincide with the agency’s 56-day aeronautical chart production schedule.

Small drone pilots are still be required to submit airspace authorization applications via the FAA website to gain  controlled airspace access.

The U.S. Navy has started to consider updating the design of its future frigates in an effort to safeguard from aerial threats its Combat Logistics Force ships used to supply ammunition, food, fuel and spare parts to other combat vessels, Defense News reported Monday.

Christopher P. Cavas writes the service branch established a requirements evaluation team to study how to transition the current frigate design – FF – into guided-missile frigate ships, FFG design, in order to integrate the anti-air warfare capability.

The Navy aims to integrate with the FFG frigate a Mark 41 vertical launch platform with over 8 Standard SM-2 missiles or increase by twofold the loadout capacity of Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles Block 2 to 16, according to a draft document obtained by Defense News.

RET also considers the integration with the updated frigate design of an Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar variant that Raytheon currently builds for large-deck amphibious ships and Ford-class aircraft carriers as well as a networking system – Cooperative Engagement Capability – designed to combine weapons and sensors into a single fire control platform.

The study team also aims to provide recommendations for the FFG design by the end of May with a plan to move the acquisition of the first frigate from 2019 to 2020 in order to provide enough time to assess design alternatives and mature the design, the document added.

Sean Stackley, acting Navy secretary, told the publication that the military branch seeks to release the request for proposals for the FFG design before fiscal 2017 ends.

President Donald Trump intends to nominate Tennessee Sen. Mark Green to the no. 1 civilian position at the U.S. Army, the White House announced Friday.

Green serves as the chaplain of Tennessee’s Senate GOP Caucus and CEO of emergency department staffing company Align MD.

He completed three combat tours in the Middle East as a special operation flight surgeon for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

His military career also includes time as a rifle and scout platoon leader, battalion personnel officer and supply officer as well as commander of an airborne rifle company at the 82nd Airborne Division and a recruiting unit at the Army Recruiting Command.

The White House announced Green’s nomination as secretary of the military branch two months after Vincent Viola, a retired Army major and founder of trading firm Virtu Financial, withdrew his name from consideration for the post.

Ashton Carter, former secretary of the Defense Department, has called on DoD Secretary James Mattis to continue to forge partnerships with technology professionals in Silicon Valley and other regional hubs in the country in an effort to advance the “force of the future” initiative, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

Jory Heckman writes Carter said in his keynote speech before the Atlantic Council that he wants the Trump administration to continue to advance the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental.

He said DIUx has facilitated deals with tech firms and helped service branches build “bridges” with the tech community in the areas of procurement and innovation.

Carter, who was named director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School in March, urged DoD to continue to invest in research and development efforts.

He also cited how the department during his tenure tapped industry tech professionals to work on some of the Pentagon’s projects for a specific time period through the Defense Digital Service program, the report added.