Business
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Aerospace Systems is being awarded a $32,774,936 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00019-08-C-0023) in support of the broad area maritime surveillance unmanned aircraft system system development and demonstration. This modification provides for a maintenance concept change that will allow for the development
Military
The Australian Navy will experiment with the operation of unmanned aircraft from warships with the objective of outlining requirements for a formal capability. "[The] navy will be undertaking experimentation with maritime tactical unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) throughout 2012-2014 to become an informed user in preparation for a business case
Military
Chile's defence ministry is set to select a mini unmanned air system for its armed forces, with the final contenders being the BlueBird Spylite, Elbit Systems Skylark 1LE and the Mantis made by Indra of Spain. The initial contract is expected to value around $3 million, but industry
Military
Denmark has issued a tender for the selection of a mini unmanned air system, with the nation's defence ministry seeking responses only from bidders with systems in operational service. The tender has been issued to US manufacturer AeroVironment and Israel's Elbit Systems, sources have revealed. Candidate
Military
The Obama administration plans to arm Italy's fleet of Reaper unmanned aircraft, a move that could open the door for sales of advanced hunter-killer UAS technology to other allies, according to lawmakers and others familiar with the matter. The sale would make Italy the first foreign country besides
Military
NATO is preparing to acquire five unmanned aircraft. With the support of resources on the ground they will allow the Alliance to develop its own ground defence capability.This video clip includes sound bites from Lars Nesse, NAGSMA Technical Requirements Manager and Scott Hulett, NAGSMA Technical Manager Source: YouTube
Military
Insitu announced that its ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system has exceeded 600,000 combat flight hours, maintaining a 99 percent mission-readiness rate. “We are honoured to provide our global customers with more than 600,000 combat flight hours,” said Insitu President and CEO Steve Morrow. “We recognize that the experience of
Military
The Singapore Armed Forces is replacing the existing Searcher UAS which have been in use since 1994, with the new and improved Heron-1. Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen announced this at the inauguration of the new fleet into 119 Squadron on Wednesday afternoon. Explaining that this marked a significant milestone
Accidents
Israel's ground forces have temporarily grounded their Elbit Systems Skylark 1 ("Sky Rider") unmanned aircraft after a series of mid-air inflations involving the type's airbag landing system. Israel Defense Forces confirms that operations of the mini-unmanned aircraft have been halted until further notice, pending
Military
Last weekend, when NATO leaders met in Chicago, they unveiled a series of new projects, among them, apparently, a programme to develop and expand the use of unmanned aircraft to confront the security threats of the future and make better use of tighter budgets. Used first for surveillance, and increasingly
Military
Talks between Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Chicago failed to make any progress on the sale of armed UAS to Turkey. Turkey seeks to buy armed unmanned aircraft from the United States, but the request has turned
Business
AeroVironment has introduced the Wasp small unmanned aircraft system and announced that it has been accepted by the U.S. Air Force for inclusion in its Battlefield Air Targeting Micro Air Vehicle (BATMAV) programme. Inclusion into the BATMAV programme enabled the Air Force to place an order for Wasp AE