On 23 June 2011 the European Commission officially announced the creation of the EC UAS Panel at the Paris Air Show. The objective of the EC UAS Panel is to produce a policy document, describing the current global UAS situation and the key challenges facing UAS development and operation in
Training
Kansas State University at Salina's unmanned aircraft systems programme office has landed key authorisation from the Federal Aviation Administration that will benefit programme offerings and students. The office recently became one of only a few civil entities granted a certificate of authorisation within Class D airspace from the
Training
Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, is training students to repair and maintain unmanned aircraft. The programme just started this month, but officials there say companies are already trying to recruit graduates. Three years ago the aviation mechanic programme at Northland Community and Technical College nearly
Research
At the graduation ceremony of the Singularity University last week, Matternet proposed applying quad-copter technology by building a network of robotic drones to deliver medication quickly and very cost-effectively. This particular class of S.U. was focused on solving problems for "the next billion people," those
Testing
South Africa's Denel Dynamics plans to conduct the first flight of its prototype Seeker 400 in the first quarter of 2012, having announced the completion of manufacturing activities. Denel unveiled a mock-up of the Shadow 400 at the Africa Aerospace and Defence Show in Cape Town last
Testing
Israel Aerospace Industries has completed development work on its Mini Panther tilt-rotor UAS, and has started offering the design to potential customers. "We are now beginning to market the system," said Avi Bleser, marketing manager of the company's Malat division. While he refused to identify
Military
The Canadian Heron Unmanned Aircraft Detachment, known as Task Force Erebus, deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, as it was clear by 2008 that the flow of information supporting counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan needed to grow in both quantity and quality. “Task Force Erebus is unique in what it has
Training
Riverside Research, a not-for-profit, scientific-research institution, has teamed with Unmanned Applications Institute International (UAII) to provide technical curriculum and faculty instruction for several UAS education and maintenance programmes to various institutions in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Ohio. North Dakota State College of Science has already committed to
Events
The UAS activities in the Latin America are constantly growing. There are ongoing UAS developments (civil & military) in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. There are currently UAS operations (civil and/or military) ongoing in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. UAS are being
Military
Northrop Grumman just released this “music video” compilation of images of its various unmanned systems in action. Nothing new – just for fun…! Source: YouTube
Accidents
The three recent unmanned aircraft crashes brings the total of large UAS crashes for 2011 to thirteen, and the total for 2010 & 2011 to thirty-six, according the Drone Crash Database maintained by Drone Wars UK. Drone Wars UK aims to be a source of information on the growing
Propulsion
Unveiled at the Oshkosh Airventure event this summer, Pipistrel’s new, twin-fuselage, 75-foot wingspan plane is powered by only a 145-kilowatt brushless electric motor mounted, very non-traditionally, between two passenger pods. “The Taurus G4 NASA Racer is a technology demonstrator,” explained Tine Tomažič, leader of the