VTOL
Scientists from the University of Costa Rica have developed a low-cost unmanned aircraft to monitor steam emissions and other atmospheric markers at Costa Rica's Aranel Volcano. The last serious eruption was in 1998, although the steady emission of steam is a constant reminder of its potential to erupt
Military
The US Navy has extended the use of Northrop Grumman's Fire Scout in Afghanistan through most of next year. A team of US Navy sailors and Northrop Grumman employees began their mission in May to gather 300 hours per month of full-motion video surveillance and deliver it in
Military
Northrop Grumman Corporation has started work outfitting the US Navy's MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter with a weapons system. The Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System laser-guided 70 mm rocket -- in production for the Navy since 2010 -- will allow ship commanders to identify and engage hostile targets
Events
Aeryon Labs was presented with the prestigious Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) 2011 Mind to Market Award at the Ontario Centres of Excellence annual general meeting held on Monday night in Toronto. Most notably Aeryon Labs developed the Aeryon Scout, an innovative, easy-to-use, battery powered, unmanned aerial intelligence gathering system
Commercial
Archaeological researchers are an early adopter of remote sensing technology but until the early part of the twenty-first century data was primarily limited to aerial/satellite imagery and photogrammetry. These methods were rather successful for a number of projects, most notably investigations of the geoglyphs of Nazca, Peru, but were
VTOL
The US Navy has disclosed that a classified intelligence payload is now flying on the Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout. Northrop was awarded a $1 million contract earlier this month to integrate a payload called Twister on the MQ-8B - an unmanned helicopter based on the Sikorsky S330 - according
Propulsion
At the end of October 2011, Thomas Senkel of e-volo made the first manned flight with an e-powered multicopter at an airstrip in the southwest of Germany. The flight lasted one minute and 30 seconds, after which the constructor and test pilot stated: "The flight characteristics are good natured.
VTOL
Just ahead of its first deployment to Afghanistan next month, Kaman posted this promo of their K-Max Unmanned Aircraft System, which they now call an "Unmanned Aerial Truck". K-MAX will be the Navy’s first-ever cargo unmanned aircraft system to deploy in an operational environment. The deploying team
VTOL
Crop physiologist Larry Purcell is employing unmanned aerial reconnaissance to study 1,200 research plots for traits that may help the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture develop drought-tolerant soybean varieties.Purcell, holder of the Altheimer Chair for Soybean Research, and Vaughn Skinner, director of the Arkansas Agricutural Research
Commercial
AeroVironment, Inc. has introduced the Qube , and in doing so, created a new category, the Public Safety Small UAS, for applications such as law enforcement and first response. Small enough to fit easily in the trunk of a car, the Qube system can be unpacked, assembled and ready for flight
Commercial
The Sheriff's Office in Montgomery County, Texas, is scheduled to take delivery today, Friday, of a ShadowHawk from Vanguard Defense Industries. The ShadowHawk is a fully autonomous helicopter equipped with a digital daytime camera as well as an infrared camera for nighttime operations. The aircraft was purchased through
Business
SurveyCopter-Developed 'Tracker' on Cassidian Stand at MILIPOL, Paris today Franco-German aerospace group European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co announced yesterday that its security and defence division Cassidian has acquired SurveyCopter, a closely-held French company specialised in the manufacture of light unmanned aircraft as part of a move to