Military
A senior Iranian military commander claims Iran’s stealth surveillance aircraft photograph US aircraft carriers and other warships cruising the waters off Iran. Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili said that the remotely-controlled aircraft operated by the Iranian Army as well as the
Military
The US Marine Corps made history on December 17, 2011, by flying a cargo UAS in a war zone. Controllers on the ground flew a K-MAX unmanned helicopter from Camp Dwyer, Afghanistan, to Camp Payne in Helmand province, ferrying 3,500 pounds of supplies to fellow Marines. Since that inaugural
Military
The Georgian Ministry of Defence has produced a video [below] of President Mikheil Saakashvili unveiling Georgia's first domestically produced unmanned aircraft. The aircraft is designed for reconnaissance and surveillance, with a photo and infrared camera, and Saakashvili said that it being home-grown means that "no one will
Military
The IDF Ground Forces Command is developing a miniature radar system that would link ground troops directly to UAS operations. IDF battalions and brigades rely on unmanned aircraft as well as some electro-optic land systems for reconnaissance missions, but they are not equipped with radars, due to their relatively high
Military
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
Military
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is in discussions with the nation's defence procurement body over a proposed launch order for its Anka unmanned aircraft, first flown in late 2010. "The tests are going well, and Anka is getting ready for production," says undersecretary of defence industries Murad
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
Business
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,