The US Military has gone from having just a few unmanned aircraft at the outset of the Iraq War to now over 7,000. American drone technology is a sought-after brand on the international arms market, but other countries have and increasingly are developing their own platforms. Allies like
Training
SDS International has been awarded a contract to deliver a ROVATTS-based MQ-9 Reaper Mission Training Device (MTD) to support Air National Guard Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) activities at 1st AF/AFNORTH, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. SDS’ Advanced Technologies Division, Orlando, Florida, will deliver the latest version of
Testing
The second X-47B completed a successful first flight on November 22. Air Vehicle 2 (AV-2) took off under hazy skies from Edwards Air Force Base at 12:43 p.m. PST, climbed rapidly to an altitude of 5,000 feet, flew several racetrack patterns over Rogers Dry Lake,
Military
France and Britain hope to deepen defence co-operation, including in unmanned air surveillance, strengthen their influence inside NATO and avoid a confrontation over the future shape of Europe at a crucial Anglo-French summit this Friday. The two countries may discuss plans for stronger voting rights in NATO for
Testing
An ANKA unmanned aircraft developed by TAI was flown for six hours for tests last Thursday, reaching a maximum height of 6,000 meters. According to officials, the unmanned aircraft passed all 240 tests undertaken during the flight and take-off and landing was done on autopilot. TAI will start
Australia's CASA is launching a review of decade old rules governing civilian use of unmanned aircraft systems. The current rules were drafted at a time when there was little such use and contain few details on important subjects such as pilot qualifications, airworthiness and risk management. The lack
Military
The US Navy’s first composite squadron equipped with manned and unmanned rotary-wing aircraft for expeditionary missions will take root in San Diego next year. Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 35 will be the first to support littoral combat ships and other Pacific Fleet ships with both the MH-60R
Military
For over five years, the American infantry's favorite UAS has been the tiny (2.2 kg/4.4 pound) Raven micro-UAS. But over the last few years, the slightly larger (3.2 kg/7 pound) Desert Hawk 3 (DH3) has been gaining in popularity. DH3 uses an
Military
The French Senate Foreign Affairs, Armed Forces and Defence Committee has decided to cancel a large part of the financial provision for the next MALE UAS programme and allocate the saving towards the development of the Franco-British joint venture MALE programme for 2020. The decision was non-partisan, with
Military
US Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are beginning initial deployment of the Switchblade unmanned aircraft system. A product of AeroVironment, the aircraft is light enough to be man-packable, simple enough to be deployed in minutes and can fly off over the horizon sending back video. It can loiter and
Military
The first Çaldıran, produced by the Turkish Kale Kalıp-Baykar joint venture, has already completed production and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) will start to deploy it next week. The joint venture won a contract to produce 12 UAS from the Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM). The Çaldıran is
Propulsion
British engine maker Cubewano has adapted a heavy fuel UAS engine to create Hornet -- a lightweight portable generator weighing just 28 lbs (12.7 kg) and producing one kilowatt of power. Light enough to be carried by one person, Hornet will run on almost any fuel including JP8 heavy fuel,