Testing
QinetiQ is working with the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) to establish a new Unmanned Air Systems Capability Development Centre (UASCDC) to support the rapid development of UAS programmes from concept to deployment. The new Centre, the first of its kind in the UK will have a hub at MOD
Testing
Alenia Aermacchi was again displaying its Sky-Y at Farnborough - a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Technologies Demonstrator - which first flew in June 2007. Sky-Y has an all-composite structure, all-electric systems and a 160 HP diesel engine of automotive derivation giving it up to 14 hours' endurance. It
Testing
Lockheed Martin has developed a small homing beacon the size of a hockey puck to help increase the accuracy of cargo drops by UAS. The beacon is small enough to easily fit in a Marine’s pack and could soon provide a novel way to call in quick, accurate resupply
Testing
Taranis, BAE’s unmanned combat air system technology demonstrator, has successfully completed a series of key tests on the way to commencing flight trials in 2013. The low observable (LO) platform recently completed radar cross section tests at BAE Systems’ Warton site and the initial analysis has indicated that the
Testing
Insitu Inc. announced that the Insitu Common Open-mission Management Command and Control (ICOMC2) system flew its Integrator Unmanned Aircraft System during a one-hour, 20-minute flight in eastern Oregon earlier this year. ICOMC2 is a core UAS control system that can be augmented with software plug-ins to incorporate evolving, mission-critical technology.
Testing
BAE Systems has announced its intention to re-fly the Mantis UAS Concept Demonstrator – this time in UK airspace. This will be the first flight of a UAS of this class in UK airspace. Flying Mantis will enable the Company to continue to mature a number of UAS capabilities and technologies,
Testing
The UAV Factory team expanded the boundaries of the unmanned aircraft capability by performing a nonstop 54 hour and 27 minute flight of the Penguin B - the longest recorded flight for a mini-class unmanned aircraft. The previous longest endurance mini UAS flight was achieved by AAI’s Aerosonde in
Testing
Raytheon’s new small tactical munition (STM), which the U.S. group claims is the first purpose-built weapon for tactical unmanned aircraft systems, could be in active service within a few months. The U.S. group told AIN it is currently integrating the STM on “a couple of platforms that
Testing
The Boeing Phantom Eye, a high-altitude, long endurance test bed, will require a nose gear redesign after the component snapped during the aircraft's first landing at Edwards AFB, California. "Hardware-wise, there will be changes based on what we learned," says Programme Manager Drew Mallow. "I
Events
Darpa announced that its UAVForge competition has ended — with none of the 140 teams emerging victorious in the quest to create a better unmanned aircraft. “The teams brought creativity and enthusiasm to the competition,” Jim McCormick, the Darpa programme manager in charge of the contest, said in the statement. “The
Testing
The US Army successfully validated the technology and capabilities of the Ground Based Sense and Avoid (GBSAA) System that will bring the Army one step closer to flying unmanned aircraft systems into national airspace. The Product Directorate for Unmanned Systems Airspace Integration (USAIC) conducted a formal two-week demonstration during the
Testing
Project officials at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center are hailing the success of recent flights tests of a miniature automatic ground collision avoidance system (Auto-GCAS) for small unmanned aircraft, after the smartphone-assisted system repeatedly executed pull-ups or sharp turns of the test aircraft to avoid imminent impact with