Data Links & Communications
Mercury Computer Systems Inc., a provider of commercially developed ISR subsystems, will provide a prime contractor with Ensemble and Echotek Series products for use in a high-speed satellite communications system tasked with transferring more ISR data from unmanned aircraft to ground forces. Mercury’s ability to deliver high processing
Commercial
Three Honeywell employees have flown five successful T-Hawk missions and captured hours of video and dozens of photos of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor. The four RQ-16A T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicles in service at Fukushima have been adapted to carry radiation sensors. This video continues to focus
Military
Northrop Grumman is planning to publicly unveil its secret Firebird aircraft later this month at the Pentagon’s Empire Challenge - an exercise designed to demonstrate intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technologies that can be fielded quickly. Despite mature work in the unmanned rotorcraft, airship and high-altitude UAS markets, company officials
Events
A team from Dubai Men's College has won the first of the UAE's Unmanned Air Systems Rodeo. The awards ceremony was held at the Centre of Excellence for Applied Research and Training Dhabi (CERT) in Abu Dhabi. The ceremony took place under the patronage of Sheikh
Testing
The clever chaps at Yale University Grab Labs have developed a robot helicopter integrated with a compliant gripper, able to directly grasp and transport objects while hovering in mid-air outdoors, without need for external motion sensors. The specially tuned elasticity properties of the gripper allow the aircraft to robustly
Launchers
Finnish catapult manufacturer Robonic Ltd Oy, part of the Sagem Group (Safran) says that the selection of its MC2555 launcher by AME Unmanned Air Systems’ (AME UAS) as part of its new Fury 1500 system opens new doors for the company in the North American market. “This selection is an
Electronic Sub-Systems
SIE Computing Solutions Inc. is introducing the SIE 734 VITA 58 rugged electronics chassis for mission-critical embedded computing systems that must operate in extreme conditions, such as unmanned aircraft systems. The rugged electronics chassis meets maintenance requirements level 2 and 2-plus of the VITA 58 industry standard for
Electronic Sub-Systems
GE Intelligent Platforms is introducing the ADEPT3000 small automatic miniature video tracker for embedded computing applications such as unmanned aircraft systems and man-portable devices where size, weight, and power consumption (SWaP) are primary design concerns. GE demonstrated the device this past week at the SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing
Commercial
Rupert Murdoch's ‘The Daily is the first American national daily news publication exclusively for the iPad. As part of the drive towards more creative content, the publication has been experimenting with video footage like this shot from a toy unmanned aircraft. The editorial team are using a Parrot
Military
The U.S. Air Force is planning to move much of its UAS force from Iraq and Afghanistan to East Asia over the next four years. Currently, the Air Force has 53 MQ-1As Predator and MQ-9 Reaper UAVs operating in Iraq and Afghanistan. But at least a dozen
Military
The US Navy awarded two fixed-price contracts to Boeing/Frontier Systems and Lockheed Martin for their unmanned A160T Hummingbird ($29.9 million) and KMAX ($45.8 million), for Cargo Unmanned Aircraft System services in December last year. A decision is now expected some time this summer on which system
Business
Aero-Instruments, a manufacturer of Air Data Sensors, has announced the acquisition of SpaceAge Control's air data product line. Aero-Instruments manufactures Air Data Sensors for large commercial transport, general aviation, rotorcraft, defence, business jet and Unmanned Aircraft Systems markets. The acquisition will allow Aero-Instruments to enter