On May 1, 2023, the Royal Air Force (RAF) began training its first cohort of pilots, sensor operators, and mission intelligence coordinators on operating its new Protector Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) at the Flight Test & Training Center (FTTC) in Grand Forks, N.D. The FTTC is owned and
Accidents
A Russian surface-to-air missile came close to striking an American MQ-9 Reaper drone over Syria in November, passing and detonating within 40 feet and damaging the aircraft, according to new details disclosed by a U.S. official to Air & Space Forces Magazine. The U.S. had
Propulsion
WiBotic – a Seattle company that specializes in advanced charging and power optimization solutions for the rapidly expanding ecosystem of aerial, mobile, space and industrial robots – introduced PowerPad Pro, a stand-alone platform which can also seamlessly integrate into any existing hangar or other UAV storage facility. PowerPad Pro automatically charges
Transport
Toyota Motor-affiliated supplier Jtekt has funded a venture developing a drone for airlifting cargo to hard-to-reach areas and disaster sites. Prodrone, based in Nagoya, is working on a "flying minitruck" slated to carry 50 kilograms for 50 kilometers. The size of Jtekt's capital
U.S. Air Force A-10 Warthogs can now employ up to 16 GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs) on a single sortie, among other stores, with the help of a new software update. Four of the five pylons under the fuselage were recently loaded with specialized bomb racks
Video
The Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger is a supersonic, single-seat carrier-based United States Navy fighter aircraft in operation during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally designated the F11F Tiger in April 1955 under the pre-1962 Navy designation system, it was redesignated as F-11 Tiger under the 1962
Transport
The funding, revealed in a filing, shows that the logistics company priced a $330 million Series F funding round in April. In a market environment where few startup unicorns have raised funding at higher valuations, drone delivery startup Zipline is an exception. The South San Francisco-based company is raising
Propulsion
In an industry first, Britten-Norman, manufacturers of the iconic Islander aircraft, and Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS), pioneers in hydrogen-electric fuel cell propulsion technology, have signed a Heads of Terms agreement, signaling their intention to merge and to create the world’s first fully integrated, zero-emissions sub regional
Nokia has revealed it is the first to offer a CE-certified, turnkey drone-in-a-box solution, designed to meet the growing demands of organizations including public safety agencies, smart cities, construction, energy and defense. CE-certified to meet safety requirements of the European Union, the Nokia Drone Networks
Military
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, is awarded a $16,555,982 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N0001923F0436) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001920G0005). This order provides for non-recurring engineering in support of the redesign of the MQ-4C Triton aircraft Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Airborne
With all the wet weather the Bay Area has had this winter, the mosquito population is expected to explode. Thankfully, Santa Clara County has a new weapon in its arsenal against the pesky insects -- industrial-sized drones. "This drone is capable of carrying a max payload of 40 pounds,
Business
AeroVironment, Inc. has been awarded a $10 million contract by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to co-design and co-develop conceptual designs and engineering development units of Mars Sample Recovery Helicopter flight systems. Future efforts could include detailed design, build, and test of qualification and flight hardware. The