Commercial
[vimeo 13714038" nolink] Bird-X, Inc., a leader in producing humane pest and bird repellent products since 1964, introduces the BirdXPeller Predator Drone. This new technology keeps pest bird intruders away from golf courses, agricultural property and vineyards—even challenging environments such as airports. It is in fact a
Propulsion
The Hyperion project at the University of Colorado is to conceive, design, integrate, and operate a 3 meter wingspan and 1.25 meter max chord flying wing airframe with a parallel hybrid propulsion system. It will be showcased at the Aerospace Engineering Department’s Design Symposium on April 15. The
Testing
Following a rigorous, five-week series of structural proof tests of the jet's airframe, the US Navy /Northrop Grumman test team have proven that the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System will be able to withstand all of the structural stresses and strains associated with takeoff, flight and
Testing
India's Defence Research and Development Organisation announced that it has conducted low-altitude trials (down to 82ft - 25m) with its Lakshya-2 unmanned aerial target. On a test conducted on 20 December 2010, it flew 5.4nm (10km) at an altitude of 82ft, with an average altitude deviation
Propulsion
The official Iranian news service, the Fars News Agency has announced that the Islamic Republic has built an unmanned flying saucer. Quote from the release: "The unmanned flying saucer, named "Zohal", was unveiled in a ceremony attended by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali
Military
US Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, director of the Joint Staff, told reporters at a Pentagon news briefing that once the bombing and missile campaign ends in Libya, unmanned Global Hawk aircraft will conduct a bomb damage assessment. The USAF also confirms that a Global Hawk flew in support of no-
Business
The Commercial Service of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv and Airlift Inc. are jointly organizing an International Unmanned Systems trade mission to Israel from March 27 – April 1. The event is sponsored by IAI, Rafael, Aeronautics, Bluebird, Simlat, and Urban Aeronautics and features visits to these companies, individual B2B
Testing
The ParaLander ram-air cargo parachute system, developed and produced by Cassidian, has been approved for operational deployment by the Bundeswehr Technical Centre (WTD) 61 in cooperation with Cassidian in Manching. ParaLander was classified as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) following extensive flight testing. Key Features: * Fully automatic ram-air
Testing
Israel Aerospace Industries has abandoned its programme of converting manned helicopters into unmanned aircraft. IAI had been helping Hindustan Aeronautics in India to convert an existing helicopter for unmanned operations. However in the absence of a defined budget by the Indian Government, it withdrew from the project. The company believes
Propulsion
Newcastle University engineers in the UK will help QinetiQ build a monster, record-breaking solar-powered plane under a project jointly funded by Boeing and the US Government. The unmanned SolarEagle aircraft fitted with solar panels will be able to stay in the air at an altitude of more than
In anticipation of a complete review of the conditions of integrating non-military UAS into the US civilian airspace (known as the National Airspace System in the US) the FAA has issued new interim guidelines for the operation of unmanned aircraft systems. Notice number N JO 7210.766 on Air
Data Links & Communications
A new white paper entitled "Wireless Data-link for Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Requirements, Challenges and Design Ideas," has just been published by Dr. Raj Jain,Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis and Fred Templin of Boeing. The full paper can be seen here: