The U.S. Army Research Laboratory has demonstrated the flight capacities of a new “Hoverbike” electric quadcopter aerial resupply vehicle prototype designed to deliver supplies to warfighters in the battlefield.

The military service said Tuesday the Joint Tactical Aerial Resupply Vehicle was shown to William Roper, director of the strategic capabilities office at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and his staff members during their visit to the Aberdeen Proving Ground Laboratory.

“I think the visit was a great success… It gave us an opportunity to showcase to Dr. Roper ideas and also the progress we’ve been making in exploiting commercial UAS technologies.” said Tim Vong, associate chief of ARL’s protection division.

JTARV is intended to fly at ground-level or at high altitudes at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour upon its completion as Army researchers look into developing a hybrid propulsion system they believe could increase the vehicle’s range.

“We’re exploring increasing payload capacity to 800 pounds and extending the range up to 125 miles,” said Vong.

He added that JTARV team is also working on implementing an intelligent and mission planning program to the vehicle to support various operations.

JTARV is a joint effort between the U.S. Marine Corps and the Army and is being developed at the latter’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center in New Jersey.

Army Secretary Eric Fanning estimates it would cost $12 billion to implement President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to increase the number of the service branch’s active-duty officers from 465,000 to 540,000, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Anthony Capaccio writes Fanning’s estimation is based on a formula that assumes that every additional 10,000 troops would require $1.6 billion to cover recruitment, military construction and equipment costs as well as annual expenditures and modernization needs.

Fanning told Bloomberg in an interview that he believes Army soldiers can grow into a “less effective, less capable force” if they are added without necessary resources.

He also warned that accelerated growth in force size may lead to enlistment of under-qualified recruits.

The U.S. Defense Department has spent a total of $10.72 billion on the air campaign against the Islamic State militant group since operations started in June 2014, DoD Buzz reported Thursday.

Oriana Pawlyk writes DoD’s latest figures indicate total spending on Operation Inherent Resolve has almost doubled from the $5.5 billion reported in 2015.

The U.S. Air Force accounted for approximately 67 percent of the costs while the U.S. Army paid for 17 percent; the U.S. Navy shouldered 12 percent; and the Special Operations Command contributed 8 percent, Pawlyk reported.

Forty percent of total costs covered air support; munitions accounted for 22 percent; and 19 percent went to logistical support, DoD Buzz stated.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter has highlighted changes throughout his 35-year career at the Defense Department during his farewell address in the Pentagon auditorium, DoD News reported Wednesday.

Cheryl Pellerin writes Carter said DoD missions have transformed from the “great-power competition of the Cold War years” to more than a decade of counterinsurgency operations and the return to full-spectrum readiness.

“When I started my career in defense… most technology of consequence originated in America, and much of that was sponsored by government, especially [DoD],” Carter said.

He noted that the government is still a major sponsor of today’s technologies but more technology developments are commercial and other countries are working to match the U.S. military’s capacity, Pellerin reported.

Carter added that he witnessed commitment to maintain technological advantage at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, Defense Digital Service, Defense Innovation Board and DoD labs and research centers.

Carter said DoD personnel are also committed to the establishment of the Force of the Future –an initiative that seeks to update DoD’s efforts to recruit, develop and retain service members and civilian employees.