Military
The RAF’s Reapers have reached a landmark after clocking up 20,000 operational flying hours over Afghanistan. Introduced in October 2007, the 39 Squadron aircraft have an array of high tech sensors and precision guided weapons to carry out a wide range of missions to support forces in Afghanistan.
Military
The Finnish Defence Forces are in the process of testing four different UAS in Northern Finland as part of the organised competitive bidding process. The final four are apparently: Aeronautics Defense Systems Orbiter 2; BlueBird SpyLite, Elbit Systems/Patria Skylark LE and WB FlyEye (Poland). The Finnish Border Guard is
Military
The French Ministry of Defence Procurement Office (DGA) re-ordered more DRAC fixed wing mini-UAS from Cassidian last week for use by the French Army in Afghanistan. The order includes both aircraft and ground control stations and delivery is programmed for between summer 2011 and the beginning of 2013. The DRAC
Military
An $86.2 million contract award last month reveals that the US Air Force will seek to prove if airships can replace fixed-wing aircraft on some surveillance missions over Afghanistan. About nine months after the US Army launched its long-endurance multi-intelligence vehicle (LEMV) programme, the air force awarded defence technology
Military
Israel Aerospace Industries is offering its electric tethered observation platform (ETOP) to Latin America for tactical use from ground vehicles. Now entering advanced development, the electrically powered design is part of IAI's new product line of hovering air vehicles. Suitable for a variety of military, civilian and paramilitary
Military
Northrop Grumman recently submitted its final proposal for the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) core capability - a trans-Atlantic cooperation that will meet the security challenges of the 21st century. The NATO AGS includes an air segment consisting of six Block 40 Global Hawks that will be missionized to meet
Payloads
FASTCOM is a mobile, secure battlefield cellular network that can be hosted on manned and unmanned aircraft, aerostats, masts or ground vehicles. It has been co-developed by two Textron Systems’ companies - Overwatch and AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems - in partnership with ViaSat Inc. In remote areas of the globe,
Testing
Electromagnetic interference (EMI) testing on the European version of Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk– the Euro Hawk – was performed recently by engineers with the 772nd Test Squadron at the Benefield Anechoic facility (BAF) at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Northrop Grumman and German government representatives participated as well. Although
Military
Chua put the Raven up for sale around May of last year.
Military
The AAI RQ-7B Shadow 200 Tactical UAS, which won the prestigious Performance-Based Logistics Award from the Secretary of Defence last autumn, continues to improve performance and efficiency after 600,000 combat hours in Iraq and Afghanistan. "We've taken cost very seriously and we've indoctrinated a
Business
Cassidian has suggested an alternative funding proposal to France, Germany and Spain for its Talarion unmanned air system. Budget approval for an estimated €3 billion ($4.2 billion) for development and production is two years behind schedule. Cuts in defence spending among European governments mean that getting a green light
Testing
Boeing’s unmanned hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye HALE demonstrator aircraft has arrived at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Centre for assembly and preparations for flight tests. NASA Dryden is hosting the Boeing flight test operation, providing hangar facilities, engineering, ground test and test range support for the project. The aircraft is