Business
Austria's Minister of Defence, Norbert Darabos, says that his country plans to buy surveillance UAS for use at home and abroad.The unmanned aircraft could be used to help protect troops on foreign soil through surveillance as well as in case of natural catastrophes such as avalanches. They
Events
UVS International’s RPAS 2012 Conference in Paris from June 5 – 7 opens this morning with the first presentation of the day given by Leslie Cary of ICAO - International Civil Aviation Organization entitled: “ICAO UAS Study Group: Current Status & the Way Ahead”. Leslie Cary is a Technical Officer in
Testing
Boeing's Phantom Eye UAS completed its first autonomous flight June 1 at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The 28-minute flight began at 6:22 a.m. Pacific time as the liquid-hydrogen powered aircraft lifted off its launch cart.
Business
Russia could be buying more unmanned aircraft from Israel as part of a new $50 million package negotiated with Israel’s third UAS manufacturer Aeronautics Ltd. Russia has been a customer of Aeronautics since the early 2000s, with first acquisitions of Aerostar UAS and Skystar aerostats in 2004-2006 for
Control Stations
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. announced that it was recently honoured by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) with a local award for outstanding aerospace management.The San Diego Section is dedicated to promoting awareness, activism, and access throughout the aerospace community. In the category of Outstanding Contribution
Solar Impulse HB-SIA successfully completed its first leg of its voyage to Kingdom of Morocco after a technical stop in Madrid on Thursday 24 of May. André Borschberg took the commands of the HB-SIA with a take-off from Payerne airfield (Switzerland). The prototype then crossed the border
On the second day of UVS International’s RPAS 2012 Conference in Paris on June 5 – 7, Ron van de Leijgraaf, from Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Netherlands (on behalf of EUROCAE WG 93) will deliver his presentation on “WG on Light RPAS: Introduction & Objectives". Ron
Business
AeroVironment, Inc. announced it received a $15,813,406 firm fixed-price authorization to perform on May 22, 2012 from the United States Army as the initial portion of a contract action with a total projected value of $65,889,191. The order includes RQ-11B Raven systems, new miniature
Following columnist Charles Krauthammer's observation that the first person to shoot down a surveillance drone on US soil will be a "folk hero," gun enthusiasts in Texas have done precisely that as a protest.Using consumer UAS as target practice, Alex Jones and the Steiner brothers
Accidents
Loss of engine coolant caused the crash of an MQ-1B Predator Jan. 30, 2012, in Afghanistan, according to an Air Combat Command Abbreviated Accident Investigation Board report released May 29, 2012. According to the report, the coolant pump supply line failed, releasing the engine's coolant. As the
Accidents
The latest annual fleet airworthiness review, obtained by The Canadian Press under the access-to-information law show that crashes by unmanned aircraft are increasing the number of accident investigations undertaken by the military’s flight-safety branch. “The overall (Canadian Forces) air accident rate — less Cadets and UAS — has
Events
One of the highlights of UVS International’s RPAS 2012 Conference in Paris on June 5 – 7, will be on the second day, when the UK and French armies give a back-to-back presentation on “Operational Experience & Lessons Learned" in the deployment of UAS in Afghanistan. Colonel