Propulsion
SPH Engineering presents a ready-to-fly tethered drone system - AirMast. Compared to some conventional mast systems AirMast is easy and quickly deployable mean to bring up sensors in the sky, not requiring operators specific technical knowledge. AirMast consists of ground module with intelligent winch system and a drone with lightweight
Testing
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has announced the commencement of flight testing for its MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (ER) series with the successful first flight of the company’s production representative MQ-1C Gray Eagle ER aircraft from its El Mirage Flight Operations Facility in Adelanto, California, on October 29th.
Electronic Systems
The US Navy announced that next generation aircraft avoidance systems will be installed on its new high-tech maritime surveillance drone. Northrop Grumman has received a $9.6 contract to install the Automatic Response Module of the Airborne Collision Avoidance System X into the MQ-4C Triton’s avionics system. The company
Commercial
AeroVironment, Inc. has announced that it has begun a year-long study with California State University, Fresno to research how unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery and analytics could potentially detect varying levels of water stress in almond trees and give producers smarter insights to make more effective in-season decisions regarding water
VTOL
The F-35 Lightning II is a 5th Generation fighter, combining advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and advanced sustainment. Three variants of the F-35 will replace the A-10 and F-16 for the U.S. Air Force, the F/A-18 for the U.S.
Commercial
China Daily website (chinadaily.com.cn) has joined forces with a drone maker to improve digital news coverage. The website and domestic drone company EHang Inc signed a collaboration agreement on Wednesday, which will see reporters given training on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) photography. The workshops will address the industry&
Technology
NASA has awarded Human Automation Teaming Solutions Inc. (HATS) a $1 million contract for a yearlong effort to develop R-HATS technology that will reduce the number of human operators needed to manage complex systems. By allowing the seamless sharing of tasks and responsibilities between automation and human, a single ground
News
A team from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has created a software tool that allows even relative novices to drag and drop standard components—including propellers, support rods, and a range of core body frames—and craft their own drone designs. While the database is relatively small,
Business
Drone USA, Inc., a developer, manufacturer and distributor of low altitude Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and related technologies announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Empirical Systems Aerospace, Inc. ("ESAero"). Headquartered in San Luis Obispo, California, ESAero is best known for their work on the
Military
China is gearing up to strengthen its role in global aviation with the drone industry taking off. Chengdu Aircraft Design & Research Institute (CADI), a subsidiary of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) in southwest China's Sichuan Province, has gained the world's attention with
Military
With Turkish officials acknowledging the operational-level service of the Bayraktar TB2, Turkey becomes just the sixth nation in the world to field a viable Unmanned Aerial Combat Vehicle (UCAV). It joined the United States, China, Pakistan, Israel and Iran in the field. These platforms offer considerable advantages when compared to
Technology
Since the dawn of the Space Age, space vehicles have predominantly shared one major limitation - their fundamentally single-use, disposable nature, and the high mission expenses that inevitably entails. While for a time NASA's shuttle fleet changed that, its retirement a little over four years ago, coupled with