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
The northern goshawk zips through a forest at high speeds, constantly adjusting its flight path to keep from colliding with trees and other obstacles. While speed is a goshawk’s greatest asset, researchers at MIT say the bird must observe a theoretical speed limit if it wants to avoid a
The FAA is issued a notice to advise the public of the twentieth meeting of RTCA Special Committee 203, Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The meeting will be held February 21-23, 2012, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the RTCA (Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics) offices, 1150 18th Street
Testing
This video of the Ecilop 1 camera stabilisation system by Aleksey Zaitsevsky is one of the more original entrants in the DARPA uavforge competition. The stabilization system described above can be implemented on multi-copters and any other types of vehicles. This stabilization principle is technically feasible for mounts with
Business
Rheinmetall and Cassidian have agreed to pursue Rheinmetall’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems activities together in a Joint Venture. It was agreed in a contract that Cassidian should hold 51 percent and Rheinmetall 49 percent of the shares in the newly established Joint Venture. The ownership interests are to be assigned