Data Links & Communications
A Fury 1500 tactical unmanned aircraft system from AME Unmanned Air Systems (AME UAS) transmitted live, full-motion video to a ground terminal over a high-bandwidth commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) satellite communications (SATCOM) link. The Fury 1500, developed at AME's UAS facility in San Luis Obispo, Calif., is operated and
Propulsion
Early this month, Liaoning General Aviation Academy displayed China's first carbon material fuel cell powered UAS "LEINIAO". Mr. Xue Ji who involved in the research and development told reporters, that "LEINIAO" is large sized UAS in the UAS family. Its wingspan can reach up
Testing
Unmanned Systems Group (UMS) has announced the maiden flight of the Discoverer II Remotely Piloted Air System on 3rd September 2012 from the Karlskoga airfield in Sweden. The production prototype was built in the company’s facility in Linköping and was flown by the UMS Head of Flight Operations, Dave
Testing
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. announced the successful first flight of the Block 1-plus Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper, an upgrade to the original Block 1 Predator B that has been in production since 2003.The MQ-9 Block 1-plus test flight occurred on May 24 at the company’s Gray Butte
Targets
India’s nationally developed, unmanned aerial target ‘Lakshya-1′ has been successfully test flown from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur. Lakshya-1, fitted with an advanced digitally controlled engine, was test flown from the launch complex-2 of the ITR successfully, defence sources said. The test was carried out to check the
Testing
Boeing's video explains the process behind the Blended Wing Body aircraft, a remotely piloted experimental jet shaped like a manta ray. Bob Liebeck, Chief Scientist and Manager of the Blended Wing Project, explains how Boeing is working with NASA to explore fuel savings and other potential benefits of
Testing
A non-profit organisation called ReAllocate is developing an art project — called Blue Sky — for Burning Man that will scan people and 3-D-print a model of them before delivering it by UAS using GPS tracking.Visitors to ReAllocate‘s dome — made out of shipping containers — at the notoriously creative festival will
Testing
[youtube kYs215TgI7c nolink] For decades, academic and industry researchers have been working on control algorithms for autonomous helicopters — robotic helicopters that pilot themselves, rather than requiring remote human guidance. MIT’s Robust Robotics Group has set itself a tough challenge: developing autonomous-control algorithms for the indoor flight of GPS-denied airplanes.
Testing
Aurora Flight Sciences' 3D wing, designed by Aurora and built with additive manufacturing technology developed by Stratasys Inc., was showcased at last week's announcement of the new National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) by senior officials of the Obama administration. The announcement of the new manufacturing technology
VTOL
New Mexico State University (NMSU), coordinating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Aviation Association (FAA), will use the Aeryon Scout system in a series of operational trials to determine the best concept of operations for small UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) to quickly assess storm damage to
Testing
US intelligence agencies were just as obsessed with UAS spying 40 years ago as they are nowadays -- only then, it was pipe-smoking entomologists and watchmakers who were in charge of building prototypes.Back in the '70s, the CIA needed some kind of miniature flyer to deliver an audio
Testing
To prepare for natural calamities, such as earthquakes, the 163rd Reconnaissance Wing and local emergency officials partnered to plan and execute Grizzly Field Exercise 2012, or GFX 12. The scope of the exercise included a simulated earthquake in Southern California with damage to the infrastructure, numerous injuries, and some fatalities.