UAM/UTM
Nova Systems, a multinational engineering services and technology solutions firm, and OneSky, a global UTM company developing airspace assessment, operations, and traffic management solutions, have announced the successful completion of Singapore’s first Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) trials. This brings to a close a two-year consortium project
Business
Aerovel, manufacturer of Flexrotor, an advanced Group 2 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft, announced that it has raised $2.5 million in Series B capital. The investment is from undisclosed leaders in aviation. Aerovel is using the funds to accelerate growth, increase production capacity and hire additional
Commercial
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has received the go-ahead to operationalise the Civil Aviation (Regulatory Fees and Charges for Unmanned Aircraft Systems) Regulations, 2020 after they were acceded to by the National Assembly on 6 March 2021. The proposed charges had been gazetted by the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry
Testing
Aerial inspections of gas and petroleum pipelines were simulated during NASA’s final Systems Integration and Operationalization (SIO) demonstration flight with partner American Aerospace Technologies Inc. (AATI) on Feb. 25, 2021. The SIO demonstration series is in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and three industry partners to show
Business
AeroViroment Inc., Simi Valley, California, was awarded a $44,961,750 modification (P00007) to contract W31P4Q-20-C-0024 for the Switchblade Weapon System. Work will be performed in Simi Valley, California, with an estimated completion date of April 29, 2023. Fiscal 2010 Foreign Military Sales (United Kingdom) funds; and
Business
Hepta Airborne , a Talinn, Estonia-based provider of end-to-end inspection and analysis tools for energy asset managers, announced completing a funding round of €2 million ($2.4M). The money was raised from investors led by SpeedUp Group and EIT InnoEnergy, along with previous investors, Contrarian Ventures, Expansion Capital,
Commercial
Drone Nerds, a North American drone distributor, has partnered with American drone company, BRINC Drones, to help bring to market one of the most revolutionary tactical tools ever built. The BRINC Drones LEMUR is designed to help SWAT teams locate, isolate, and communicate with suspects. A ruggedized and durable composition
Propulsion
Researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia have published a study revealing their successful approach to designing much quieter propellers. The team used machine learning to design their propellers, then 3D printed several of the most promising prototypes for experimental acoustic testing at the Commonwealth Scientific
Military
The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) established the 601st Unmanned Aerial System Squadron on March 4, 2021, operating the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle UAS from its base at Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. It is the RMN’s first unit dedicated to unmanned aerial systems. The launching ceremony was officiated by Navy chief
Business
The Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) and Elbit Systems Ltd. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to expand cooperation in the field of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The cooperation will address potential UAS programs for the Korean Defense Forces, as well as additional global customers. The companies will cooperate to
Testing
The second prototype of Turkey’s state-of-the-art unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) Akıncı has successfully passed another test, the manufacturer announced. “Each successfully completed test brings #AKINCI one step closer to the mission. Free and independent in our sky,” the company noted. Baykar’s Chief Technology Officer
As NASA’s newest Mars rover, Perseverance, continues its own checkouts and tests, work is starting for a new phase of the mission – the Ingenuity helicopter. This first-of-its-kind piece of hardware will demonstrate (non-rocket) powered flight on a world other than Earth for the first time.