Launchers
Talon, a new drone recovery system manufactured by Target Arm LLC. The Talon was officially introduced at the Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) at Fort Benning, Georgia. It uses a Venus Flytrap-like capture system on the back of a moving vehicle through which either a fixed-wing or rotary-
L3 Technologies was awarded a potential five-year, $454M contract to build, deliver and support an electro-optic infrared laser designator payload for the U.S. Army’s RQ-7Bv2 tactical unmanned air system. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work under the EO/IR/LD payload
Business
Schiebel has founded Schiebel Pacific Pty Ltd (SPL) to provide the Pacific region with a permanent and comprehensive programme, logistics and sales hub. The Schiebel Group, with already established Defence contracts in the region, sees considerable further potential in Australia and in the region at large, and as such is
Regulations
The FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program has been busy accelerating drone technology in four states during the month of August. “Data gathered from these pilot projects will form the basis of a new regulatory framework to safely integrate drones into our national airspace,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L.
Test Ranges
An unmanned aerial vehicle base, the first compound in which the country officially allows drones to carry out multi-scenario testing and applications, officially opened in Shanghai’s Jinshan Industrial Zone on August 30th. The East China regional branch of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Shanghai’s transport commission,
Military
The State Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that it intends to indict, pending a hearing, officials of an Israeli drone manufacturer that allegedly attempted to bomb the Armenian military on behalf of Azerbaijan during a demonstration of one of its unmanned kamikaze aerial vehicles last year. Among those from Aeronautics
Data Links & Communications
An on-line retailer has settled charges with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that it marketed non-compliant audio/video (AV) transmitters intended for use with unmanned aircraft systems. Under the terms of an Order issued by the Commission, the retailer, Horizon Hobby, LLC, has agreed to pay a civil
Business
Boeing will build the U.S. Navy’s first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft, the MQ-25 aerial refueller, through an $805 million contract awarded on August 30th. Boeing was awarded the engineering and manufacturing development contract to provide four aircraft. Boeing plans to perform the MQ-25 work in
Recent satellite photos seem to show the ultra-high-speed reconnaissance drone project developed by the 611 Chengdu Institute, and suggest that the machine would have already entered service at within the Chinese armed forces. On the image taken probably in Malan (马兰) / Hoxud (和 硕) in Xinjiang province on
Propulsion
WiBotic, a supplier of wireless charging and power optimization solutions for the robotics industry, has announced a new wireless power system for the DJI Matrice 200 (M200) and DJI Matrice 210 (M210). The easy-to-install WiBotic wireless power system enables fully autonomous recharging of the drones, so they can
Regulations
The much awaited ‘drone’ policy will come into effect from December 1, 2018. Drones or Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, RPAS, are already in India for several years and their use ranges from children’s toys to wedding aerial videography to remote sensing for infrastructure and other development programmes. The Policy
UAM/UTM
With a mutual interest in performing routine Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) flights in the National Airspace System (NAS), NASA is collaborating with industry through cooperative agreements that are expected to lead to flights in 2020. This Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) allows for multiple cooperative agreements starting with the effective date