Business
UMS SKELDAR, a designer and manufacturer of both vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and fixed wing high-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), has extended its manufacturing capabilities as a part of its wider strategic growth plan for 2016 and beyond. The facility, which is located in Linköping in Sweden,
Military
The US Air Force is continuing to invest in upgrades to the Global Hawk unmanned aerial system, most recently giving Northrop Grumman a $30.3 million contract modification for retrofits that will help several of the aircraft take over some of the duties carried out by the U-2 spy
Commercial
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested a Concord man they accused of purposely flying a drone near a CMPD helicopter as it tracked a suspect last week. The helicopter pilot had to “immediately and abruptly” alter the helicopter’s flight path to avoid a midair collision with the drone, police said Friday.
Commercial
The FAA has released its annual Aerospace Forecast Report Fiscal Years 2016 to 2036 that finds a sustained increase in overall air travel and the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. A key portion of the forecast focuses on projections for the growth in the use of unmanned aircraft, also known
Military
Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 2 launched into a new era with its RQ-21A Blackjack flight into Class D airspace, over Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., March 21. Commonly only allowed to fly in restricted airspace, VMU-2 now has the expanded ability to integrate RQ-
Transport
A drone has successfully delivered a package to a residential location in a small Nevada town in what its maker and the governor of the state said Friday was the first fully autonomous urban drone delivery in the U.S. Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeney said the six-rotor drone flew
Regulations
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today released an updated list of pilot, air traffic controller and citizen reports of possible encounters with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The latest report covers August 22, 2015 through January 31, 2016. Reports of unmanned aircraft have increased dramatically since 2014. Safely integrating unmanned aircraft
Business
Aaruha Technologies, the early-stage technology fund started last year by ex-Infosys CFOs Mohandas Pai and V Balakrishnan, as well as BV Naidu, the chairman of Sagitaur Ventures, officially announced its second investment today. This time, it’s placed its bets on Aarav Unmanned Systems (AUS), a startup that
Military
In 2009, after two weeks of being embedded as an independent journalist with a small team of U.S. Marines in Afghanistan, I ended up at Combat Outpost Monti, a 14-acre camp of tents, plywood huts, a few concrete bunkers and makeshift guard towers, and a helicopter landing area,
Commercial
Drone pilots operating near towered and non-towered airports can get help deciphering FAA guidance and learn more about best practices from a new AOPA fact sheet. “We get calls every week from drone pilots who want help unraveling FAA requirements for their operations,” said Rune Duke, AOPA director of
Commercial
Leadership at Aerodrome, a teaching airport and builder of a 50-acre drone airport in Boulder City, Nevada has confirmed that the site is intermittently operational. Construction on the site, a public and commercial airport for drones broke late last year and has made steady progress. It’s hosted both
Regulations
The Senate's version of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2016 has finally made it out of committee, and it contains 65 pages of requirements for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Some of these provisions go to the heart of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) philosophy for dealing