VTOL
Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy successfully demonstrated endurance capabilities with the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. On a planned 10+ hour flight and range out to 150 nautical miles flight from Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu; the MQ-8C Fire Scout achieved 11 hours with over an
Testing
The US Navy is to begin an operational assessment of its Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton unmanned air vehicle in September, ultimately paving the way for the start of low rate initial production of the type. Expected to take two months to complete, the testing will take place at Naval Air
Testing
A European Commission-funded study has successfully demonstrated the ability of a tethered unmanned air vehicle to land on a moving platform without the aid of GPS. Under the EC-Safemobil effort led by the Andalusian Foundation for Aerospace Development's Centre for Advanced Aerospace Technologies (FADA-CATEC) and the University of
Weapons Systems / Lasers
The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator is on track to get a major upgrade and its sister laser, the Compact Laser Weapon System has just successfully shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle. Good news for those at Boeing who are hoping the Army, and others, pick up this technology. The
Commercial
During the first two weeks of July, Meteomatics performed a drone measurement campaign for meteorological soundings in the eastern part of Switzerland. Over 450 sounding flights were conducted with drones flying on five locations simultaneously: Altenrhein, Amlikon, Bad Ragaz, Oberriet and Schänis. During the campaign, the self-developed Meteodrone covered
Testing
Nokia has showed off how it plans to use drones to replace some of the inspection and maintenance work on cell towers which is currently done by human technicians.
Testing
Urban Aeronautics is continuing flight tests on its AirMule UAV prototype in preparation for free flights, which are scheduled to take place in the third quarter. Preparations include the installation of a radar altimeter and flight termination system (FTS), as required by the Civil Aviation Administration of Israel (CAAI). In
Testing
The US Army has finished its Follow On Test and Evaluation on the MQ-1C Gray Eagle and Initial Test and Evaluation on the One System Remote Video Terminal at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. Record testing was conducted from May 29 to June 14. The Gray Eagle, already
Testing
A New Zealand-first drone delivery over Auckland has given new meaning to "air mail". Delivery company Fastway Couriers has teamed up with Sydney-based unmanned aerial vehicles UAV company Flirtey to create the aerial delivery service. The duo successfully trialled their first drone parcel delivery, transporting auto parts between
Testing
NASA, working with government and industry partners, is testing a system that would make it possible for unmanned aircraft to fly routine operations in United States airspace. Through the agency's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System (UAS-NAS) project, NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), General
Testing
Aurora Flight Sciences announced that from June 12-15, 2015 the company's Centaur optionally piloted aircraft (OPA) flew multiple unmanned flights from Griffiss International Airport in Rome, New York. The successful test flights were conducted in full collaboration and compliance with Oneida County's Griffiss UAS Test Site,
Testing
EnergyOr Technologies Inc., a developer of advanced PEM fuel cell systems, recently demonstrated what are believed to be the world’s first fuel cell powered and longest ever duration multirotor VTOL UAV flights, flying for a record 2 hours, 12 minutes and 46 seconds. This demonstration was performed to highlight