Military
Elbit Systemsannounced that its Skylark I-LE Unmanned Aircraft System has been granted a Military Aircraft Type Certificate from the French Ministry of Defence (DGA – Direction Générale de l'Armement). The Type Certificate permits the French Army to operate the Skylark I-LE in the French national airspace. Granting
Training
Two members of Beale Air Force Base were recognized as the first RQ-4 Global Hawk pilots in the new 18X career field during a winging ceremony January 13th. Second Lts. Jacob and Scott began training Oct. 3, 2011, after a decision by Air Staff officials in June 2011 established
Business
AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems and ViaSat Inc. announced that the organisations have entered into a strategic alliance to align AAI's advanced unmanned aircraft and command and control technologies with ViaSat integrated airborne and terrestrial satellite communications, as well as its Internet Protocol-based networking and security technology. Under
Business
NATO's long-running process to order an Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) capability could at last achieve a contract signature within the next few months, although the scale of its programme appears to have again been revised. "We have the contract, and it's under negotiation,"
Accidents
Officials with the 49th Wing announced a remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper performed an emergency landing on January 23rd. at approximately 9:45 p.m. just south of the base near Alamogordo. The aircraft is assigned to the 29th Attack Squadron, which is a remotely piloted aircraft flying training unit.
Testing
As part of the Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) programme, the US Navy and industry partner Northrop Grumman have been developing Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) technologies to refuel unmanned aircraft in flight. The team completed a series of flight tests January 21 in St. Augustine, Florida, as the
Business
The nEUROn, European UCAV technology demonstrator, has been officially presented to the representatives of the six participating countries by Mr. Charles Edelstenne, Chairman & CEO of Dassault Aviation. Mr. Serge Dassault, Honorary Chairman of the company, as well as the representatives of the nEUROn industrial team - Saab (Sweden), Alenia Aermacchi
The US Army is updating its policy on flying unmanned aircraft in US airspace, according to a new memo written by Army Secretary John McHugh. The policy applies to the active Army, National Guard and Army Reserve, unless otherwise stated, according to the memo. The Army uses the aircraft for
Reports & Publications
The reliability of Pentagon weapons systems remains a serious problem, according to a 352-page Annual Report released the other day by the Defense Department. And among the systems that have tested poorly in terms of reliability are some of the military’s most vaunted new aircraft: the unmanned MQ-
Testing
MBDA will begin a new round of live flight tests of its Saber guided bomb – one solution for weaponising the Shadow - later this year, according to Doug Denneny, the company's Vice President of Business Development. MBDA has been running its own tests on the Saber's performance
Testing
This 'Proof of Flight' video from icarusLabs posted in the DARPA uavforge competition shows candidly the various obstacles and solutions that the young engineers experienced in developing their entry. Whilst the result is far from complete, the design shows sone originality with a tendency towards over-complication. Voting
Data Links & Communications
The US Air Force has sent into space a satellite that is expected to improve communications with unmanned military aircraft in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Officials say a Delta 4 rocket carried the WGS 4 satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 7:38 p.m. last