Regulations
The U.S. aviation group charged with developing standards to enable unmanned aircraft to fly in unrestricted airspace has completed the first documents for key systems, but cautions they are limited in scope and application. RTCA Special Committee (SC) 228 has released interim minimum operational performance standards (MOPS) for the
Business
The US State Department has approved Spain’s request to purchase four General Atomics-built Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles and associated equipment from the U.S. under a $243 million foreign military sale. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Tuesday that in addition to the systems themselves, the sale would
Propulsion
Goebler-Hirthmotoren GmbH & Co. KG (Hirth Motors) launched a new 4103 engine based on their highly successful 4102 engine which to date has flown over 20,000 missions in theatre. The 4103 engine is an air-cooled, rotary valve controlled 2-stroke boxer engine with electronic fuel injection (EFI)
A US research effort is looking to develop an unmanned air vehicle-based capability that will allow scientists and meteorologists to track the movement of weather as it develops. The Cloud-Map team, which consists of divisions from the universities of Oklahoma, Kentucky and Nebraska, is looking to create a
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announces the largest civil penalty the FAA has proposed against a UAS operator for endangering the safety of our airspace. The FAA proposes a $1.9 million civil penalty against SkyPan International, Inc. of Chicago. Between March 21,
Business
Piaggio Aerospace is committed to securing a second European customer for its P.1HH HammerHead unmanned air vehicle by July’s Farnborough air show, following launch customer Italy’s commitment earlier this year to purchase six aircraft and three ground stations, for delivery in 2016. “Our aim is to announce
Regulations
Helipix UAV has just released the latest updated CAA ENR Warnings on .kml files for free download free and import into Google Earth here.These files provide essential information on Restricted Areas, Aerodromes, contact details and much more. All the data is obtained from the National Air Traffic Service and
Business
Electro-optics engineers at BAE Systems are designing a multi-sensor suite and onboard processing to detect, identify, and pinpoint moored and drifting sea mines from manned and unmanned aircraft. Officials of the U.S. Office of Naval Research in Washington announced an $8.9 million contract to BAE Systems
Business
Insitu Inc., Bingen, Washington, is being awarded $9,396,512 for firm-fixed-price delivery order 0009 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N68335-11-G-0009) for the procurement of one ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system for the government of Cameroon under the Foreign Military Sales program. The system
Business
The UK is to receive 20 new 'Protector' unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as part of a wider ramp-up of unmanned, surveillance, and special forces capabilities to combat militant Islam in the Middle East, Prime Minister David Cameron announced on 3 October. Speaking to the Telegraph newspaper, Cameron
Commercial
In five months of operation, the NGO Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) saved over 8.800 lives in the Mediterranean. By spotting and monitoring distressed vessels, Schiebel’s Unmanned Air System CAMCOPTER S-100 assisted in the rescue and contributed significantly to the success of the mission. Thousands of refugees
Business
DARPA hasn't yet given official confirmation of "who won" the TERN contract. But this month, one of the two contestants told us who lost. Specifically, on September 22, AeroVironment announced that it "was not selected to receive a phase III contract for DARPA's