Research
Unmanned aircraft systems are becoming more and more complex in order to fulfill a number of potentially conflicting performance and robustness requirements. However, the use traditional development methods that continue to rely on legacy designs and domain specific tools that perform subsystem-level optimization make it difficult, if not impossible
Data Links & Communications
A small, lightweight, embeddable radio developed by Harris Corporation has received Type 1 certification from the National Security Agency, paving the way for its use in high-security, space-constrained communications applications such as unmanned aircraft systems, vehicles and shelters. The Harris Small Secure Data Link (SSDL) provides embedded encryption
Military
The French Ministry of Defence said that it was in talks with Dassault Aviation on an order for a new unmanned aircraft system (a variant of the IAI Heron TP ) that would enter into service in 2014. The Dassault aircraft would replace the Harfang, made by EADS derived from the
Military
The Pakistan Navy has inducted the first squadron of unmanned aircraft systems into its fleet. Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Noman Bashir was the chief guest in the induction ceremony for the new UQAB-11 squadron. During the ceremony he said that unmanned aircraft would increase the operational capabilities of
Propulsion
The propulsion system for an unmanned aircraft that takes off vertically like a Transformer Robot then shifts to horizontal flight mid-air were tested yesterday at the University of Maryland's Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel. The AD-150 aircraft, developed by American Dynamics Flight Systems, is one of
Military
BAE Mantis Uses Lola CompositesMotorsport aficionados of a certain age love to love Lola. For 50 years, the master of the British kit car has been a frontrunner, either in its own right or as the engineering power behind big teams in formulas ranging from Indianapolis and Can-Am to
Business
The Global Unmanned Aircraft Systems Market, worth an estimated US $7.1 billion this year, is expected to grow by 4% over the next ten years, reaching US $10.5 billion in 2021, according to a new report. According to Strategic Defence Intelligence, the 4.08% compound annual growth rate
Control Stations
A project at the U.S. Air Force Electronic Systems Center incorporates weather information with flight maps so crews can more quickly understand what the environment plans to throw their way and when. FalconView Weather displays weather and data products on FalconView, the mapping application of the Portable Flight Planning
Propulsion
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) will host a Proposers' Day Conference for the Great Horned Owl (GHO) Programme on August 15, 2011, in anticipation of the release of a new solicitation in support of the programme. The Conference will be held from 12:00 PM to 4:
Accidents
The Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) claims to have shot down an American unmanned aircraft over the nuclear enrichment site of Fordo near the city of Qom. Ali Aghazadeh Dafsari, a member of the National Security Commission of the Iranian Parliament told the local reporters that the air defence
Testing
Northrop Grumman has announced that a test version of Germany’s Euro Hawk is now finally in the air, en route to the EADS Manching site, near Munich. The aircraft, which took off from Edwards Air Force Base, California, on Wednesday, July 20, at approximately 11:50 Central European Summer
Military
Insitu Inc. announced that its ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system surpassed 500,000 combat flight hours and more than 56,000 combat sorties to deliver actionable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) with 99 percent mission readiness. "We successfully accomplished this milestone through a collaborative global team," said Insitu President