Control Stations
British drone insurer Flock has raised $17 million from investors in early-stage funding led by venture investor Chamath Palihapitiya's Social Capital, Flock said on Thursday. Flock started out insuring commercial drones, and added car and van fleets last year. It provides so-called usage-based insurance, adjusting
Military
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has revealed for the first time an artist’s impression of a missile-carrying air-to-air combat drone that it is developing as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s LongShot program. LongShot will launch from larger UAS or human-crewed aircraft and
Business
Shield AI, a fast-growing technology company that develops artificial intelligence and self-driving car technologies for the defense industry, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Martin UAV, an aerospace company best known for its industry-leading vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft, V-
Business
Pix4D has announced the signing of an exclusive reseller partnership with Beijing Skymap Technology Co., Ltd. a high-tech enterprise integrating software sales, service, research and development, and project integration in mainland China. With the diversification of Pix4D’s product portfolio to meet the specific needs of industries like surveying
UAM/UTM
A new flying car prototype with autonomous capabilities has been unveiled by XPeng Huitian, a division of XPeng Motors in China. The X2, as its being called, is the fifth-generation flying car from XPeng, and according to the company’s Chairman and CEO, “marks another step closer to a
Until the mid 1950’s, small short-range airliners like the twin engined IL-14 were really the only type the Soviet Union produced. And that meant flying across the country’s vast territory required multiple stops for refueling. The exhausting flight could take could take over 24 hours and
A former Air Force intelligence analyst who once helped find targets for deadly U.S. drone strikes was sentenced to 45 months in prison for leaking top-secret details about the program. Daniel Hale, 33, told a federal judge he felt compelled to leak information to a journalist out of
Weapons Systems / Lasers
Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, successfully defeated a swarm of drones with its reusable Coyote Block 3 non-kinetic effector during a U.S. Army test. The demonstration moves the variant closer to deployment. Derived from the expendable Coyote loitering munition, the Block 3 utilizes a non-
Commercial
Graham Burton from Pontypridd is the mastermind behind the Facebook group called Drone SAR for Lost Dogs UK which has helped locate thousands of lost pets. He started the group in 2017 after hearing of a lady in Devon who was being asked for £800 per day from a drone
Propulsion
A new type of electric, fixed-wing drone recently achieved a world record for time in the air within the group-2 fully electric category. The flight shows what combat support by electric drones could look like, as the Defense Department works to connect more hardware under increasingly difficult conditions.
Transport
Drone Delivery Canada Corp. has announced that it has become the first publicly traded drone delivery company to be granted a domestic cargo licence under the Canada Transportation Act (“CTA”) and Air Transport Regulations (Canada). This licence, normally issued to airlines that provide passenger or cargo services, is a critical
C-UAS
Following the lead of the U.S. Navy, the French Navy will soon begin testing a laser-based anti-drone system for point defense, which would give it a new option for keeping its maritime assets safe from low-cost, explosives-laden drones and small craft. Armed or bomb-laden