Testing
An unexpected degree of aero-shell degradation was "the most probable cause" of the premature flight termination of DARPA's Hypersonic Technology Vehicle during a flight over the Pacific Ocean last August, according to the findings of the agency's independent engineering review board. Following an extensive
Military
Iran claimed on Sunday that it had reverse-engineered the RQ-170 captured by its armed forces last year and has begun building a copy. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, chief of the aerospace division of the Revolutionary Guards, related what he said were details of the aircraft's operational history to
Military
Contrary to recent reports, the Navy’s unmanned helicopter fleet is not permanently grounded following two unrelated crashes in a week, a service leader said on April 17. Routine flights of the MQ-8B Fire Scout, of which the Navy has 14, are merely suspended while investigations into the crashes are
VTOL
An International Security Assistance Force rotary-wing unmanned aircraft crashed in northern Afghanistan on April 6. The cause of the crash is currently being assessed, however initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area. The site has been secured and no injuries have been reported as a result
Accidents
The United States has suspended unmanned aircraft flights over the Seychelles while it investigates a second crash in four months on the archipelago. One of the remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper aircraft crash-landed last week at the main airport on the island of Mahe shortly after taking off on an unspecified
Accidents
After two incidents resulting in crashes, Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout operations are on an 'operational pause' for the indefinite future. One aircraft was damaged on 30 March after landing in the ocean. The second aircraft crashed in Afghanistan on 6 April, according to an International Security Assistance
Accidents
The first CIA RQ-170 Sentinel mission over Iran took place more than three years ago when the aircraft penetrated more than 600 miles inside the country, captured images of Iran’s secret nuclear facility at Qom and then flew home. Analysts at the CIA and other agencies watched carefully for
Accidents
A US MQ-9 Reaper crash-landed at the Seychelles main airport and careered into the ocean on Wednesday. It was the second remotely piloted aircraft to crash on the Indian Ocean archipelago in four months. The accident happened at approximately 14.40 hours on April 4 Seychelles time. The Seychelles Civil
Accidents
Defense Tech just published some new photos of that C-130H that collided with an RQ-7 Shadow over Afghanistan last year. According to their source, the aircraft lost all fuel out of the left wing — something you’d expect when a giant hole is punched in the wing. This meant that
Accidents
In-flight electrical failure caused a Northrop Grumman EQ-4 to crash in Afghanistan on 20 August 2011, says a newly-released accident investigation report. The aircraft crashed approximately 105 nm (195 km) northwest of Kandahar. Specifically, an electrical connector to an unidentified line replacement unit (LRU) partially separated. This caused electrical damage
Accidents
An unmanned helicopter has crashed during a Police test flight near Houston. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, north of Houston, became one of the first police departments in the USA to begin flying Unmanned Aircraft for police missions in October 2011. County officials and the maker of that
Accidents
An American unmanned aircraft crashed in north-west Pakistan's tribal district near the Afghan border late Saturday, officials said. The aircraft came down in the mountainous Machikhel area about 30 kilometers (20 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan region, which is frequently targeted by drone