Commercial
From September 1-13, a team of scientists and engineers are collecting magnetic data using ground surveys and a UAS, to map the geophysics below the surface of Surprise Valley, a quiet rural community of about 1,000, set amidst a vast high desert landscape dotted with hot springs and
Business
As many as 66 countries would be eligible to buy American UAS under new Defense Department guidelines but Congress and the State Department, which have a final say, have not yet opened the spigots for exports, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday. The 66 countries were listed in a
Accidents
Irreversible engine failure caused the crash of an MQ-1B Predator April 14, 2012, into an unpopulated mountainside in Afghanistan, according to an Air Combat Command Abbreviated Accident Investigation Board report released on Tuesday.The mishap crew was assigned to the 162nd Reconnaissance Squadron, Springfield Air National Guard Base, Ohio.
Testing
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. announced the successful first flight of the Block 1-plus Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper, an upgrade to the original Block 1 Predator B that has been in production since 2003.The MQ-9 Block 1-plus test flight occurred on May 24 at the
Lighter Than Air
Inside the 17-story mammoth wooden blimp hangars at the former military base in Tustin that rise above southern Orange County, Worldwide Aeros Corp. is building a blimp-like airship designed for the military to carry tons of cargo to remote areas around the world. "Nobody has ever tried
Northrop Grumman posted this promo video on YouTube.It's basically a short overview of the compnay's various currently available unmanned systems. Source: YouTube
Business
In-flight evaluations will take place in September and October on the Emmen airbase for the acquisition of new unmanned aircraft reconnaissance system (ADS 15). Out of the eleven systems made by nine companies that were originally in the running, those submitted by Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit Systems Ltd.
Military
The Spanish Army has completed its first 500 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in Afghanistan using Israel Aerospace Industries Searcher II. Acquired via Madrid's PASI unmanned aircraft system programme, the equipment forms part of Spain's contribution to NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Flown
Business
U.S. Air Force researchers are choosing embedded computing experts at Space Computer Corp. in Los Angeles to upgrade sensor processing in the Air Force Airborne Cueing and Exploitation System Hyperspectral (ACES Hy) side-mounted persistent-surveillance sensor for the MQ-1 Predator. Officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory
Business
Israeli manufacturer Innocon has unveiled its candidate for a requirement to supply a new class of unmanned aircraft system to the Indian Air Force and Navy. Named Spider, Innocon's design weighs 2.5kg (5.5lb) without its sensor payload and battery installed, and will provide an operating endurance
Business
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (ASTI), a developer of state-of-the-art, flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules, announced that it is collaborating with Silent Falcon UAS Technologies and Bye Aerospace to provide its lightweight, flexible copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaics to power the Silent Falcon unmanned aircraft system (UAS)
The AOPA Foundation's Air Safety Institute (ASI) has released a new interactive online course entitled "Unmanned Aircraft and the National Airspace System."The course covers topics including: what unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are and how they operate; their impact on general aviation; how manned and unmanned