Commercial
Canada is deploying unmanned surveillance aircraft to the High Arctic for the first time, as part of the largest military exercise ever in the Far North. Catapult-launched Boeing ScanEagle similar to those used by the Canadian army for surveillance in Afghanistan are to assist in a major air disaster scenario
Testing
EOS, the world-leading manufacturer of laser-sintering systems, is developing UAV parts and promoting the use of laser-sintering as a competitive business strategy. Laser-sintering involves no tooling, and very little machining or fixturing, making it highly cost-effective and speedy for the low production runs of most UAVs. Re-designs of parts for
Testing
A U.S. Navy F/A-18D surrogate aircraft emulated an autonomous, unmanned aircraft as it performed several approaches to arrested landings on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on 2 July. The carrier landing test included the use of new Precision GPS and Tactical Targeting Network Technology
Propulsion
Boeing is currently testing a Ford Motor Co. turbo-charged 2.3 liter four-cylinder engines that has been modified to run on liquid hydrogen, two of which will eventually be fitted to the Phantom Eye. At this point in the testing process, Boeing engineers have attached the power plant and a
Military
Army Recognition posted this video proving that Euro Hawk did indeed land successfully in Manching, Germany, July 21, 2011. The EURO HAWK took off on July 20 at 2:50 PDT (11:50 Central European Summer Time) from Edwards Air Force Base, California, and landed at 10:06 Central European
Testing
A team, led by Andy Keane and Jim Scanlan of the University of Southampton, believes that 3D printing will soon allow unmanned aircraft to go from the drawing board to flight in a matter of days. No longer, they say, will one design of UAS be repeatedly manufactured on a
Testing
Aerovisión Spain has supplied an unmanned aircraft used in trials of monitoring the Spanish coast, within the remit of the WIMAAS (Wide Maritime Area Surveillance) project, financed by the European Union. This is the first time that an aeroplane of a non-military nature has taken part in controlling European coasts.
Commercial
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and BP Exploration Alaska demonstrated the use of a three-pound unmanned aircraft, the Aeryon Scout, as a way of gathering 3-D aerial data to aid in oil spill clean up efforts. Through the use of this technology, oil spill responders can complete Shoreline
Lighter Than Air
Raytheon Company's aerostat system - Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensors (JLENS) - recently completed a successful endurance test. "Providing long endurance surveillance for cruise missile defense is a very important capability of JLENS," said David Gulla, vice president for Global Integrated Sensors
Electronic Sub-Systems
Northrop Grumman Corporation's RQ-4B Block 40 Global Hawk completed its first full system flight with the high performance AN/ZPY-2, also referred to as the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) sensor. The flight took place at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on July 21. This is a
Testing
CNN sent reporter Brian Todd to the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel at the University of Maryland to witness wind tunnel tests of the AD-150 aircraft, being developed by American Dynamics Flight Systems, an unmanned aircraft that can take off vertically and fly horizontally. The AD-150 is being developed for
Testing
Those who have been following the saga will all be relieved to know that the Northrop Grumman-Cassidian Euro Hawk finally landed in Germany on 21 July. It touched down "on the centreline" at EADS' Manching site, near Munich, at 10:06 local time, after a more than