Testing
AeroVironment has unveiled its 'Nano Hummingbird' - capable of climbing and descending vertically, flying sideways left and right, flying forward and backward, as well as rotating clockwise and counter-clockwise, under remote control and carrying a video camera payload. The milestone was part of the Phase II contract awarded
Military
General Atomics has announced that it has successfully completed a key wind tunnel test on a model of its Sea Avenger UAS. The test validated the low-speed characteristics of a new wing, resulting in higher endurance and lower approach speeds. The new wing is also designed to increase aircraft dash
Testing
University of Arizona aerospace and mechanical engineers are studying bird and bee flight to develop unmanned aircraft that stay aloft longer and cope with sudden and severe changes in airflow. The College of Engineering's Hybrid Dynamics and Control Laboratory is developing mathematical analysis and design methods that could
Military
Elbit Systems announced that it has successfully performed a series of joint flight missions of its Hermes® 450 and Hermes® 900 Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The two different UAS were controlled and operated from the same universal ground control station (UGCS), transmitting the gathered imagery, ELINT and COMINT to their station
Military
On Feb. 4, 2011, Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy successfully conducted the first flight of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) aircraft. The flight, which was conducted under hazy skies at Edwards Air Force Base in California, began at 2:09 p.m. PST and
Testing
Aurora Flight Sciences announced that the Centaur Optionally Piloted Aircraft (OPA) has begun its flight test programme. The first fully-configured Centaur made its first flight on Saturday, January 22, 2011 from Aurora's base at Manassas, Virginia. The flight crew for the first flight was Thomas Washington, serving as
Military
A draft report by the US Air Force's 53rd Wing Group at Eglin Air Force Base said that the new system, dubbed Gorgon Stare*, had "significant limitations," and is "not operationally effective" and should therefore not be deployed in the field. The Sierra Nevada
Testing
Xiamen Milestone Group has become the first enterprise in Fujian to design and make a successful trial flight of an unmanned aircraft. The trial flight was carried out on Jan 4th, 2011 and the company plans to market the aircraft in May this year. As a national key high-tech enterprise
Testing
Schiebel Aircraft GmbH and Wescam L-3 Communications have announced the first flight of a CAMCOPTER® S-100 UAS with the Wescam MX-10 EO/IR payload installed. After brief installation and integration activities of a joint L-3 Wescam Schiebel team, the MX-10 flew successfully at a test range near the Schiebel production
Military
Apache helicopter pilots will soon be able to control Grey Eagle UAS directly from the cockpit. The Grey Eagle-Apache command system is undergoing testing and is expected to be ready for demonstration at the Dugway Proving Ground test centre in Utah by September. Tim Owings, the civilian deputy head of
Propulsion
An experimental UAS with a wingspan almost the size of a Boeing 747 took to the skies over the Mojave Desert last week in a test flight from Edwards Air Force Base, reports the LA Times. On Thursday, the Global Observer performed its first test demonstrating its ability to use
Military
Euro Hawk, the premier unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the German Air Force, successfully proved its long endurance capability with a 30.3-hour flight over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and EADS Deutschland GmbH, operating through Cassidian, the defence and security division of