UAB Engineering launches micro-air vehicle program from uabnews on Vimeo. Senior engineering students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’sSchool of Engineering were challenged to build a MAV weighing less than 10 grams and powered by a four-volt battery. Their recent test flight was scheduled to last
Testing
Military radar experts at the Northrop Grumman Corp. Aerospace Systems segment and partner Raytheon Co. Space and Airborne Systems segment, both in El Segundo, California, will develop and install an advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground radar system for the Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40
On 7 March 2012, the Council of ICAO unanimously adopted amendments to Annexes 2 and 7 of the Chicago Convention, achieving a very important milestone for the insertion of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the total aviation system (i.e. not only the airspace, but the body of safety rules
Military
Tehran intends to build military unmanned aircraft in Washington's backyard for the Venezuelan military led by Hugo Chavez, U.S. Southern Command chief General Douglas Fraser told reporters last week during a breakfast meeting in Washington. Pressed about the unmanned aircrafts' capabilities, Fraser dubbed it "a
Business
EADS appears to be rethinking its push of the Talarion unmannned aircraft, after a prolonged period of unsuccessfully trying to get Germany and other European countries to back its development. "For the time being we are not pushing the development of Talarion," says EADS CEO Louis Gallois. Instead,
The SESAR Joint Undertaking (SESAR JU) and the European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation to facilitate exchange of technical and programme information between the two organisations. EUROCAE will better align its strategic work programme to fit the standardisation needs of
Testing
Flight tests beginning in the mid-2000s have pioneered methods for automation in refuelling routines - summer 2012 may see tests of one unmanned aircraft refuelling another. "In-flight refuelling has proven invaluable to manned military aviation, and there’s no reason to expect that the same wouldn’t be
The FAA has now published its request for comments, including instructions for filing comments, on the agency’s selection process for six unmanned aircraft system (UAS) test sites, in the Federal Register. The FAA intends to identify six test ranges/sites to integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National
Accidents
In-flight electrical failure caused a Northrop Grumman EQ-4 to crash in Afghanistan on 20 August 2011, says a newly-released accident investigation report. The aircraft crashed approximately 105 nm (195 km) northwest of Kandahar. Specifically, an electrical connector to an unidentified line replacement unit (LRU) partially separated. This
Military
An ad hoc team of former programme managers is calling on the Pentagon to adapt the 18 Global Hawk Block 30 UAS, due to be mothballed under current budget plans, for boost-phase intercept (BPI) of ballistic missiles. They contend that the US could quickly field a flexible, mobile, ultra-
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has asked for public input on the agency’s selection process for six unmanned aircraft system (UAS) test sites. Once the pilot programme is established, the agency expects it will provide valuable data to help the FAA safely and efficiently integrate UAS into the same
This video shows a demonstration of the "Cheetah" robot galloping at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour (mph), setting a new land speed record for legged robots. The previous record was 13.1 mph, set at MIT in 1989. The robot's movements are patterned