Military
The US Air Force intends—once again—to divest itself of the MQ-1 Predator and transition to an all-MQ-9 Reaper fleet of medium-altitude remotely piloted aircraft, according to Lt. Gen. Mike Holmes, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for plans and requirements. Speaking with reporters
Electronic Sub-Systems
Aiming at the burgeoning market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Velodyne LiDAR has unveiled its new Puck LITE -- at 590 grams, the world’s lightest 16-channel LiDAR sensor. With a 30-degree vertical field of view and a range of 100 meters, Puck LITE builds on the success of
Commercial
DJI has announced DJI Care, a protection plan that provides customers with peace of mind and an enhanced after-sales experience. New and existing DJI drone owners will have the option to purchase either a six-month or one-year DJI Care protection plan that will cover damage to their
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a chip that allows new radar cameras to be made a hundred times smaller than current ones. With this NTU technology, radar cameras that usually weigh between 50 kg and 200 kg and are commonly used in large satellites can
Testing
AT&T and Intel have agreed to test how Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) work on a network designed to connect devices on the ground. Intel and AT&T will be working to solve major issues in the space, including connectivity. Mobile World Congress attendees will get a first
Business
Raven Industries announced that its Applied Technology division has been named the worldwide exclusive distribution partner for AgEagle Aerial Systems, a provider of Unmanned Aerial Systems used in precision agriculture. This partnership will allow Raven to expand into the UAS market by enhancing its product offering to provide actionable data
Research
Things were all abuzz at the 102nd Intelligence Wing, Jan. 18-22. The wing hosted a team of robotics experts and support personnel from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on the Building 158 hangar floor to test the capabilities of the latest autonomous UAVs and sensors as part of
It is with deep sorrow that we have learned that Steve May has unexpectedly passed away at the age of 70 on 14 February 2016, while taking his favourite walk on Swami’s Beach in Encinitas, near his home in San Diego, California. Steve May (LtCol US Army rtd) was
Commercial
On Tuesday, Feb. 16, a member of UK-based UAS company Ocuair became the first person to fly a drone across the English Channel. That morning, Richard Gill spent 72 minutes flying a UAS across the 35 km (about 22 miles) English Channel. Not only is this the first drone
Northrop Grumman has completed integration of the UTC senior year electro-optical reconnaissance system (SYERS-2) on board its RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle, ahead of an imminent first flight test with the type. The payload was provided by the US Air Force for 30 days from the
Military
The Afghan military is expected to field its first specialised surveillance drones as soon as March, a U.S. commander in Kabul said recently, as the nation slowly expands its own air force. The boost in military hardware comes as Afghan security forces, fighting largely alone since the withdrawal of
Boeing will provide technical support to Qatar University College of Engineering (QU-CENG) to build Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for air quality monitoring. A group of 24 undergraduate students from the college will benefit from the collaboration with Boeing. During the project, which runs until May 29, they are required