Commercial
Moller International, Inc. announced the postponement of the first manned untethered flight of its M400X Skycar that had been scheduled for October 11, 2011. "As Moller International moves forward with our new marketing and public relations campaigns, we find ourselves up against compounding deadlines, "said Jah Mackey, Director
Military
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation is being awarded a $17,098,027 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Rapid Deployment Capability Weaponization Program in support of the Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle MQ-8B Fire Scout System. This contract includes the installation, engineering, manufacturing, and data development of the weapons systems,
Military
The US military is sending so many surveillance aerostats to Afghanistan that industry is scrambling to supply helium and “cannot keep up with the increased demand” for the containers that hold the gas. That’s according to documents from the Defense Logistics Agency, the Pentagon office responsible for keeping vital
Testing
The MQ-8B Fire Scout was the first UAS to land on a moving ship without being controlled by a ground-based operator and, five years later, a new version of the platform dubbed the Fire-X is currently undergoing test at YPG. "It provides a heavier lift capability than the Fire
VTOL
More VTOL UAS are on display at the Aviation Expo China 2011 trade show in Beijing. Chinese companies and institutions are developing a range of helicopter unmanned air vehicles for military and civilian applications. One of the systems, the Sunward Tech SUV200, has a 200kg (441lb) payload capacity, and was
Events
The Aviation Expo China 2011, being held in Beijing from September21-24, opened yesterday. The advanced domestic unmanned helicopter, codenamed Z-5, is on display in the exhibition hall. It will be the first time that the helicopter has been seen by the public at large, who will have access to the
Military
In this video, which was just published on YouTube by Defense Media Network, Mansik Johng, A-160 Advance Design Manager at The Boeing Company, presents the outstanding features and capabilities of the unmanned helicopter. The video was shot at the AUSA Winter Symposium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 23-25, earlier this
VTOL
Qinetiq has joined forces with Northrop Grumman to offer what it has described as a low-cost, short-term solution for an emerging Royal Navy requirement to field a vertical take-off and landing unmanned aircraft system (VTUAS).The companies are proposing a demonstration programme which would take one of the UK'
VTOL
Austrian company Aerie has announced its first VTOL Long Endurance unmanned aircraft system, the Swift. The Company intends to fill the gap in the market for Long Endurance VTOL intelligent Aircraft, starting with the Swift which has an endurance of 24 hours. “We have studied the market for years. There
VTOL
The US Navy has outlined the details of a 15-month competition to start later this month to select an unmanned helicopter that could be purchased in the hundreds by the end of this decade. The medium-range, multi-role unmanned aircraft system (MRMUAS) contract has already drawn interest from at least three
Research
SkyNET is a stealth network that connects hosts to a botmaster through a mobile drone. The network is comprised of machines on home Wi-Fi networks in a proximal urban area, and one or more autonomous attack drones. The SkyNET is used by a botmaster to command their botnet(s) without
Military
The Lockheed Martin-led unmanned K-MAX team successfully completed a five-day Quick Reaction Assessment (QRA) for the U.S. Navy's Cargo Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) programme. "The autonomous flying K-MAX is designed to resupply Marines on the battlefield and in remote locations," said Roger Il Grande, director