Testing
The U.S. military is heavily reliant on unmanned aircraft systems to serve as its eyes and weapons on the battlefield. But other nations have also been active in acquiring their own platforms, which raises the possibility that future warfighters may have to face a UAS-equipped opponent. To test
Testing
America’s only combat casualty in Libya had no way of defending itself, when it was taken out by a heavy anti-aircraft weapon. But that’s about to change. The U.S. Navy’s Fire Scout unmanned helicopter is poised to start test-firing rockets. By the end of
Electronic Sub-Systems
Avionics maker Rockwell Collins reveals that it has won a broad system-level contract on the US Air Force's $86 million Blue Devil Block 2 airship programme, the company's first "nose to tail" command and control win in the unmanned aircraft systems sector. Under
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is scheduled to publish the first draft of regulatory proposals under Part 23 standards for sense-and-avoid systems and autonomous decision-making by UAS in civil airspace. This could lead to the adoption of the new standards within 18 months, said Andrew Lucas,
Events
Unmanned aircraft systems were a major element of this year's Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence, which occupied roughly one third of the available show space, displayed several unmanned systems. One of the more innovative designs featured a swept wing in
Training
L-3 Link Simulation & Training (L-3 Link) announced that it is collaborating with Dayton, Ohio-based Sinclair Community College to educate students and industry participants in the operation and application of unmanned aircraft systems to support future global market requirements. In support of this initiative – which aims to
Propulsion
UAS Dynamics - a joint venture between Elbit Systems and General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products - has enhanced the performance, mission capabilities and operability of the Skylark 1LE mini UAS. Assessing U.S. requirements made it clear that the needs of the U.S. forces and Special Operations community were different
Testing
Aerovel has released this video of the Aug 11, 2011, transition between vertical and horizontal flight by its Flexrotor vertical take-off and landing small unmanned aircraft. The flight included a hover and vertical recovery. Flexrotor has been designed by the same people who developed the Insitu ScanEagle long-endurance
Testing
The second Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator (UCAS) is scheduled to hold its first engine-on tests on August 21, followed shortly by taxi tests and a first flight. Once flying, both aircraft will be moved from Edwards Air Force Base, California, to the US Navy&
Accidents
A ground-based sense-and-avoid system being prototyped by the U.S. Army would have prevented the mid-air collision of a C-130 Hercules airlifter with RQ-7 Shadow unmanned aircraft at a forward operation base in eastern Afghanistan on August 15, a service official says. “Had we
Military
The US has sent two more armed Predators to the Libya conflict in response to requests from commanders seeking more intelligence-gathering capabilities. Defense officials say that the additional aircraft will give commanders more flexibility as well as the ability to have several unmanned aircraft in the air at one
Electronic Sub-Systems
Elbit Systems Ltd. announced that it was awarded contracts by several customers in Asia to supply many dozens of observation systems for maritime patrol aircraft, vessels and observation towers. The total value of these new contracts is approximately $20 million, to be supplied over three years. Elbit Systems Electro-optics