Propulsion
The Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO) has successfully tested BAE Systems’ APKWS laser-guidance kits in a counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) mission. The testing against Class-2 UAS paves the way for fielding of the precision-guided rockets to partner nations around the globe. APKWS transforms unguided rockets into smart munitions
Propulsion
In early March, Dufour Aerospace put the hybrid unit, consisting of a two-cylinder engine from Suter Industries, a generator from Plettenberg and our own digital control hardware, into operation for the first time on its own test bench. Some further optimisation and testing work still remains to be done before
Propulsion
Australia’s aerospace company Hypersonix Launch Systems has been selected to provide hypersonic vehicles to the United States’ Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) for testing. The Australian start-up was selected from a field of major international aerospace companies competing for the DIU contract under the Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities
Business
Wingcopter, the German developer and operator of delivery drones, and Hamburg-based ZAL Center of Applied Aeronautical Research GmbH have announced a development partnership. Together, they intend to explore the potential of green hydrogen to power Wingcopter's drones, which are already purely electric, and develop a sustainable, hydrogen-based propulsion
Propulsion
Electrification is seen as having an important role to play in the fossil-free aviation of tomorrow. But electric aviation is battling a dilemma: the more energy-efficient an electric aircraft is, the noisier it gets. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a propeller design optimisation method that
Testing
A Cape Town-based technology start-up, FlyH2 Aerospace, has announced the successful maiden flights of its hydrogen-electric Dragonfly V drone, which is designed for commercial use. The fixed-wing STOL drone, which is capable of carrying heavy payloads, has a range of potential applications including agriculture pest control, farm security, and wildlife
Propulsion
HevenDrones has launched its first hydrogen-powered drone for commercial use, the H2D55. With 5-times greater energy efficiency than traditional lithium battery-powered drones, the H2D55 is capable of flying for 100 minutes with a payload capacity of 7kg. The launch of HevenDrones' hydrogen product line addresses the challenge of flight
Propulsion
Chennai-based Garuda Aerospace unveiled a model of an unmanned solar-powered high-altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aerial J-Glider platform named Suraj at the Aero India 2023 show. The HAPS unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is being developed by the company under the guidance of India's National
Propulsion
Electric Sky announced that its Whisper Beam transmitter successfully completed initial physical tests. The company is developing the technology for ground stations to wirelessly power electric aircraft ‘on the fly’. The new self-focusing radio wave improves on older wireless-power methods. Conventional lasers and microwaves start strong but get weaker as
Propulsion
Packet Digital announced that it has been awarded an $8.5 million contract to develop unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) smart batteries, chargers, and power systems for the United States Navy. Packet Digital is now responsible for designing and manufacturing high-performance UAS battery systems for the next generation of Navy Maritime
Propulsion
Blue Force Technologies and the Air Force Research Laboratory have successfully completed a ground test for a novel carbon fiber composite propulsion flowpath system for BFT's Fury uncrewed fighter under the AFRL Bandit program. As announced in Mar 2022 BFT, an agile aerospace and defense company based in
Propulsion
The MIT Lincoln Lab has produced some new devices for aircraft and drones that make some impressive efficiency gains and are radically quieter. “The toroidal propeller allows a small multirotor unpiloted aircraft, or drone, to operate more quietly than current drones that use propeller forms unchanged since the beginning of