Military
The U.S. Marine Corps has chosen a classified weapon to arm the AAI RQ-7B Shadow tactical unmanned aerial system (UAS) for a field evaluation in Afghanistan. “The weapon is classified. It’s a high-TRL [technology readiness level] system,” says Lt. Col. Scott Anderson, product manager for Shadow in the
Military
Israeli and British security sources have confirmed in recent days that the Royal Air Force has been considering buying a number of Heron TP (also known as the Eitan) systems, since the Mantis, a joint British-French unmanned strategic project, has been delayed and will not be operational before 2020. No
Military
The US State Department wants to acquire its own fleet of unmanned aircraft to help protect diplomats posted to Iraq and other dangerous countries and in March, issued a request for proposals for contractors to provide the aircraft, crew and support on a turnkey basis. The State already operates UAS
Military
To ensure continuous coverage of its oceanic frontiers, the Indian navy would need six to eight Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This number would allow India to keep a BAMS airborne all day, every day for 365 days a year, says a Northrop
Military
Russia’s Defence Ministry has issued a technical specification for development of a strike unmanned aircraft (UAS), Izvestia daily said on Monday quoting a high-level source. Tranzas company will build the UAS on-board electronics as well as its navigation and control systems. The airframe, which will weigh about five tons,
Military
Spain will deploy two new types of UAS in Afghanistan during 2012, for a total of six aircraft. The IAI Searcher MKII and III aircraft have been deployed since March of 2008 exclusively at the Forward Support Base of Herat, but from now on Spain will also have a ground
Military
Northrop Grumman has established a Global Hawk Support Website where pertinent information about the Global Hawk (and related platforms) is provided. NGC uses the new website to put their case against the USAF decision to terminate Block 30 Global Hawk: * Global Hawks fly 3-4 times longer missions and farther than
Military
Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare announced on Thursday that a second Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) will be delivered to the army almost a year ahead of schedule. The TUAS systems, purchased from the US, comprises of five aircraft, ground control
Military
Before the launch of a top-secret spy satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base, a fleet of small unmanned aircraft will be doing some spying of their own. RQ-11 Raven equipped with high-powered video cameras will fly around the craggy launch site northwest of Santa Barbara, scouring the ground below to
Military
This video, uploaded on March 24, 2012, shows the made-in-Iran UAS, known as “Pahpad”, taking off and operating from Hamah airbase in the city of Hama, in the West of Syria, north of Damascus. Hamah seems to be one of the most active regime’s airbases: a Syrian Air Il-76
Military
Australia's Cocos Islands territory could be used as a staging point for flights by United States unmanned surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea. Citing US and Australian sources, The Washington Post said that the Pentagon was eyeing the Indian Ocean territory's coral atolls as an
Military
The US Navy has set a weight-based threshold for who will operate unmanned aircraft, with UAS weighing more than 55 pounds (25 Kilos) being operated as adjuncts to manned systems, while operators of lighter aircraft will come from other corners of the service. Additionally, it’s expected that officers will