Military
On August 7, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) completed the first-ever automated landing of an MQ-9 Block 5 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), followed by the first auto-takeoff on August 9. The new Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability (ATLC) was developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to enhance
Military
AeroVironment, Inc. has announced the receipt of a fixed-price contract award valued at $5,962,494 from NSPA on August 20, 2018.The contract award encompasses the procurement of Raven® unmanned aircraft systems equipped with Mantis i23 sensors and pocket Remote Video Terminals (p/RVT) for the Portuguese Army, with
Military
A Hellenic Army unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fell near Komotini, northern Greece, last Thursday morning.The SAGEM Sperwer type aircraft fell some four kilometers west of Komotini, according to local reports. The aircraft had been on a training exercise when it crashed five minutes after takeoff, sources said. Initial assessments
Regulations
The ICAO Legal Committee, chaired by Mr. Terry Olson from France, concluded its 37th Session last week at ICAO's Headquarters, addressing a range of challenging emerging issues for international air transport. Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, ICAO Council President and Dr. Fang Liu, ICAO Secretary General were present to
Military
A MQ-4C Triton landed on its belly after a test flight last Wednesday went wrong at Naval Base Ventura County in California. The incident occurred at 2:45 pm Wednesday at Point Mugu when the aircraft from Florida-based Naval Air Station Jacksonville’s Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19 experienced an unspecified
C-UAS
Images from Russia's major 'Vostok 2018' exercise on 13 September appear to show a production version of the REX-1 counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) weapon in use by Russian Federation airborne troops. The REX-1 is a rifle-like, man-portable jammer developed by Kalashnikov Group subsidiary ZALA Aero Group
C-UAS
At the Land Forces Exhibition in Adelaide, EPE, Thales and Department 13 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) following successful integration of the MESMER Counter Drone solution into the Bushmaster. The MOU outlines the intent for this solution to provide an interim cyber capability for the vehicle platform. Drones have
Business
Delair, a supplier of commercial drone solutions, announced that it has recently closed its expansion round with an investment from Intel Capital. For the past year, Delair and Intel have been collaborating on the Intel Insight Platform, a cloud-based digital asset management solution that leverages Delair’s extensive suite of
Commercial
For anyone who was unsure about the legality of using drones to carry drugs, mobile phones, weapons and other contraband into California's prisons, Gov. Jerry Brown clarified things by signing legislation this week that outlawed such flights. Senate Bill 1355, which Brown signed Monday, states that operation of
Military
Taiwan’s defense budget draft for 2019 discloses the island nation’s plans to deploy combat-ready drones to protect its coastline. Tabled to the island’s Legislative Yuan last week, the budget details the prioritization of tactical reconnaissance and armed drones to deter enemy forces on beachheads and coastal areas.
Commercial
Reno-based drone company Flirtey has completed the first multi-drone delivery demonstration with a single pilot under the Federal Aviation Administration’s Drone Integration Pilot Program. The successful test, which was performed in front of FAA representatives, puts the company on track to gain approval for its drone delivery program and
News
The University of Maryland’s Perception and Robotics Group has just published a paper on a system that allows a drone to fly through very small and completely unknown gaps using just a single camera and onboard processing. The UMD researchers tested their theory with a Bebop 2 drone packing