Military
US Navy acquisition officials are in discussions with Northrop about acquiring an unmanned helicopter based on the Bell 407 civil helicopter for special operations use. The possible sale is a rapid outgrowth of an effort Northrop and Bell began less than two years ago to demonstrate how the 407 could
Military
The US Marine Corps has purchased two Insitu Integrator unmanned aircraft systems to provide pre-deployment training at 29 Palms, California. The first system will be delivered next month and the second soon after. The U.S. Navy plans to purchase two similar Integrator systems for its special-warfare forces. This “early
Military
U.S. Marine Corps plans to arm the AAI RQ-7B Shadow tactical unmanned aircraft have cleared NATO treaty compliance hurdles. The service now expects to conduct a field user evaluation within 18-24 months. NATO approval was needed as the rail-launched Shadow falls under a treaty intended to prevent the proliferation
Military
Libyan rebels have been using the Aeryon Scout Micro UAS to acquire intelligence on enemy positions and to coordinate their resistance efforts. Representatives from the Transitional National Council (TNC) were looking for an imagery solution to provide to the troops on the ground. They evaluated a series of micro UAS
Military
The Pentagon has approved the requirement for an “endurance upgrade” to the U.S. Navy’s Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout, with a larger aircraft to provide increased payload and range to support special operations forces. After also evaluating the Boeing A160T Hummingbird and Lockheed Martin/Kaman K-Max unmanned helicopters,
Testing
Northrop Grumman Corp. Aerospace Systems sector in San Diego is using the company's Bat unmanned aircraft in the U.S. Air Force Sand Dragon B programme to defeat improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other roadside bombs. The Northrop Grumman Bat UAS is a rail-launched, net-recovered, runway-independent UAS shaped
Propulsion
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is evaluating aerial refuelling for the upgraded version of its Heron unmanned aircraft system, which is better equipped to perform maritime missions. The Israeli navy is in the process of phasing out its manned Westwind 1124 Seascan maritime reconnaissance aircraft, which have been operated since 1978,
Testing
America’s only combat casualty in Libya had no way of defending itself, when it was taken out by a heavy anti-aircraft weapon. But that’s about to change. The U.S. Navy’s Fire Scout unmanned helicopter is poised to start test-firing rockets. By the end of next year,
Data Links & Communications
UAS Dynamics - a joint venture between Elbit Systems and General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products - has enhanced the performance, mission capabilities and operability of the Skylark 1LE mini UAS. Assessing U.S. requirements made it clear that the needs of the U.S. forces and Special Operations community
Accidents
A ground-based sense-and-avoid system being prototyped by the U.S. Army would have prevented the mid-air collision of a C-130 Hercules airlifter with RQ-7 Shadow unmanned aircraft at a forward operation base in eastern Afghanistan on August 15, a service official says. “Had we been operational with GBSAA [ground-based sense
Military
The US has sent two more armed Predators to the Libya conflict in response to requests from commanders seeking more intelligence-gathering capabilities. Defense officials say that the additional aircraft will give commanders more flexibility as well as the ability to have several unmanned aircraft in the air at one time,
Military
Lockheed Martin has developed a ruggedized version of its Stalker Unmanned Air System (UAS), called the Stalker eXtreme Endurance (XE) UAS. The Stalker XE system quadruples Stalker's flight endurance to eight-plus hours without impacting the mobility of the unmanned system or the flexibility of its payload capabilities. "