Events
The fastest-growing occupation in the US Air Force — warzone surveillance — soon may be reaching its peak as the Defense Department looks for ways to cut costs. The deployment of Air Force remotely piloted aircraft across Iraq and Afghanistan grew rapidly over the past eight years, at the same time
Testing
Researchers at the Modern Technologies Engineering Collage of Tabriz University developed an unmanned aircraft, called the Shaparak (butterfly), which can fly at 15,000 feet and has a range of 20 km. One of the designers of the aircraft said that the long period of constant flying at high altitudes
Payloads
The Cloud Cap Technology software team has just announced the release of TASE 2.2.0 with many enhancements and new functionality. Included in the release: camera configuration control, improved image quality, new gimbal sensor configuration, new network video support, improved map data interaction, and improved PathTrack. The release also
Accidents
This video showed up on YouTube last week. It shows the ultimate fate of the Vega Stork – the Russian version of the Predator. The Vega reportedly crashed on takeoff during a demonstration flight on18 January 2010. Source: YouTube
Testing
Qinetiq has joined forces with Northrop Grumman to offer what it has described as a low-cost, short-term solution for an emerging Royal Navy requirement to field a vertical take-off and landing unmanned aircraft system (VTUAS).The companies are proposing a demonstration programme which would take one of
Training
This video was created to be shown at the Dedication Ceremony of the UND Grand Forks AFB UAS Training Facility. A brief chronology, the piece features video documenting the construction process and development of this unique facility. One of the first UAS training facilities of this type, the UND GFAFB
Propulsion
Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has announced that the growth variant of the Rolls-Royce AE 3007H engine has successfully completed its US Air Force-funded flight test. The engine is designed to enhance performance of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft and will offer customers significant
The programme director for University of North Dakota’s Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems has been named to the newly launched North Dakota Airspace Integration Team. Al Palmer, director of the programme’s research, education and training, was appointed to the position by North Dakota’s congressional delegation and Governor
Business
The US Naval Air Systems Command seeks proposals for research support in developing innovative solutions for the Maritime and Littoral Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission requirements. The Medium Range Maritime Unmanned Aerial System (MRMUAS) will be a Multi-Intelligence (MultiINT), reconfigurable platform capable of operating from all air-capable
This event took place at Eurocontrol Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on 13 & 14 September 2011 and was attended by 212 persons (small & large industry: 42; military: 28; regulators: 69; research organization: 18; users: 35; various: 10). The organizations present included: European Aviation Safety Agency, ECAC, European Commission, European
Accidents
A Predator came down on Sunday in Zangarha village in South Waziristan, near the Taliban and al-Qaeda hideouts in the rocky region bordering Afghanistan. A military intelligence official based in the nearest city, Wana, said that the aircraft suffered a mechanical failure. The Pakistani Taliban, a domestic offshoot of
Military
The UK Ministry of Defence has outlined its planned schedule to field a follow-on batch of five General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft, and revealed details of the operational demands being placed on the Royal Air Force's current fleet. RAF Reapers have flown missions