Military
The US Navy plans to “descope” the stealth requirement for its future carrier-based aerial refuelling unmanned air vehicle, which is now called the MQ-25 Stingray. Formerly known as unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike (UCLASS), the programme has been rejigged following “strategic portfolio review” by the Pentagon in 2015. The
Business
Enlightenment Capital, an aerospace, defense, and government-focused investment firm, announced that it has made a strategic investment in Aurora Flight Sciences, a manufacturer of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and autonomous flight technologies for military and commercial customers. The investment will support Aurora’s strategy for expanding the company’s development
Technology
The U.S. Army’s Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS) has developed a new capability with a navigation alternative to GPS. In recent tests, JPADS were dropped from planes, and immediately determined their location using optical sensors to compare local terrain with commercial satellite imagery. The new system demonstrated navigation
Business
Piaggio Aero has secured the first export order for its P.1HH Hammerhead unmanned air vehicle, following the United Arab Emirates’ decision to acquire eight of the type. The P180 Avanti II twin-pusher-derived UAV will be provided to the nation under a €316 million ($347 million) deal signed between Abu
Military
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, a company based in Sacramento, Calif., is proposing its Unmanned Tactical Aerial Platform 22 (UTAP-22) to fill a need unmet by the slow unmanned aerial vehicles used for surveillance. The UTAP-22 is a high-performance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with fighter-like capabilities. The UTAP-22 is based
Military
The asphalt runway stretches for a mile on Yucca Flat, deep in the Nevada National Security Site about 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Built in 2005, the runway covers a dirt landing strip from the 1950s, when the wide, flat valley was used for atomic bomb test shots. A
Weapons Systems / Lasers
High over Alaska last summer, the Pentagon experimented with new, secret prototypes: Micro-drones that can be launched from the flare dispensers of moving F-16s and F/A-18 fighter jets. Canisters containing the tiny aircraft descended from the jets on parachutes before breaking open, allowing wings on each drone to swing
Military
The Israeli air force (IAF) and Israel Aerospace Industries are working to “significantly” increase the endurance of the Heron TP unmanned air vehicle from its current 36 hours. Work is ongoing to introduce additional sensor capability, the reason the IAF requires additional endurance. By 2020 the IAF's "
Military
By Dan Gettinger, Center for the Study of the Drone The Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman have, for several years, been a nexus for Iranian military drone activity. At no time was this more evident than on January 29, the day Iran claimed that it had flown a drone
Research
Aurora Flight Sciences announced that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded the company the prime contract for Phase 2 of the Agency’s Vertical Takeoff and Landing Experimental Plane (VTOL X-Plane) program. For decades, aircraft designers seeking to improve vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities have endured
Business
Northrop Grumman Corp., Aerospace Systems, San Diego, California, is being awarded $7,280,560 for cost-plus-fixed-fee task order 1269 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0026) in support of the MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aircraft systems. This test support effort for the MQ-8C includes software verification; software regression; cybersecurity;
Military
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande will unveil a 1.5 billion-pound ($2.1 billion) cooperative drone project when the two leaders meet in Amiens today. Britain and France will commit 750 million pounds each to build a prototype unmanned aircraft that will be the