Boeing has announced the successful de-orbit and landing of the second X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) for the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. The X-37B landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base at 5:48 a.m. Pacific time on June 19, concluding a 469-day
SPI Corp's industry focus on PTZ systems led to the development of the M1-D Thermal PTZ - a “lightweight, low cost EO/IR platform, it is being marketed to UAS manufacturers as a viable solution to meet the new FAA streamlined regulations. “The M1-D Thermal PTZ is
Lighter Than Air
MAV6 just published these most recent M1400 photos. No additional progress has been made subsequent to these photos as a result of the Air Force direction to suspend development activities. As of this writing, the airship is still inflated, and the company still holds out some hope of transitioning the
Events
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) invites its Member States, industrial partners, research and development organizations, sponsors and exhibitors to the Performance-based Navigation (PBN) Symposium to be held in Montréal from 16 to 19 October 2012. This unique event will bring together key partners from the aviation industry including,
Commercial
On a small ranch amid old farm equipment and rustic silos 10 miles southeast of San Marcos, a crew of researchers from Texas State University has been routinely launching an unmanned aircraft. Its mission is not to track rivers and wildlife. Called Ronnie, short for Ronald McDonald, because of its
Propulsion
Researchers at the University of Colorado are building the smallest supersonic jet engine ever made. Weighing just 22 lbs. (10 kg) , the tiny jet will drive an unmanned aircraft faster than the speed of sound and could become a template for testing future generations of civilian and military aircraft. Source:
Clarkson University graduate student Jordan Janas has been part of a research team that has developed an unmanned aircraft that will be used to measure wind speeds and turbulence. The data will then be able to be used by engineers to determine the best locations for potential wind energy projects
Data Links & Communications
Thales has announced the STANAG 7085 certification of its TMA 6000 wideband airborne datalink terminal by the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC), making the TMA 6000 the first European terminal of its kind to obtain certification in the United States. The TMA 6000 has now officially demonstrated its capacity to
The US Air Force is looking for engineers who can develop technology to help different unmanned aircraft collaboratively track targets, according to an announcement on grants.gov. The goal of the United States Air Force Academy research programme, called Cooperative Technologies for Unmanned Systems, is to explore the potential for
The next decade could see a huge shift in the way armed unmanned aircraft and their human controllers interact, with potentially profound effects on future battlefields. At the heart of this change: two-way voice controls for autonomous systems, just like your iPhone’s Siri app. Also, vibrating controls like
Japan's atomic energy authority and the country's space agency has announced a joint project to develop an unmanned aircraft to measure radioactivity in the environment after last year's nuclear disaster.Japan has been forced to invent or improve systems for measuring radioactive contamination since
Military
During a defence budget meeting last Thursday after visiting a base in southern Russia, newly-re-elected President Vladimir Putin said “We need a programme for unmanned aircraft.” Experts say this is a most important area of development in aviation,” he added. “We need a range of all types, including