UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
The hacker group AntiSec has released a 1GB cache of stolen documents from two organizations with ties to US law-enforcement agencies. Vanguard Defense Industries manufactures the ShadowHawk for law enforcement and security in the private sector, while InfraGard is a partnership between the FBI, businesses, academic institutions, and law-enforcement agencies.
Rockwell Collins has just made this video available of the October 2010 test flight of an AAI RQ-7B Shadow equipped with its damage-tolerant flight control system. Under the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Damage Tolerance programme, 20 inches of the Shadow’s wing was blown off in flight. The autonomous control system automatically recovered the aircraft to controlled flight, adjusted the autopilot gains to compensate for the loss of an aileron, and landed the aircraft safely.
This year’s US National Aerospace Week, an event established by Congress, will focus on informing the debate over choices the US government will make in the coming months. Ongoing and emerging security threats, aging civil and space infrastructure, fiscal challenges and keeping and creating jobs all present the United States with enormous challenges.
Raytheon Company recently demonstrated its Common Ground Control System (CGCS) technology to representatives from the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence. The demonstration showed a UAS control station in a scenario representative of a Scavenger UAS mission, including simultaneous control of multiple dissimilar vehicles, sensor command and control, and connectivity to external systems, among other capabilities. Continue reading
Sidney A. McPhee (left), President of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, and Army Colonel Timothy Baxter, Project Manager for the Army's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office
Middle Tennessee State University signed a MoU with the US Army’s UAS Program Office. The Army is partnering with MTSU to turn university-level research and development into technology applicable to UAS.
Robota LLC demonstrated a 10 hour and 4 minute flight of its unmanned aircraft platform named Robosoar. The UAS is designed to be man-portable, operated by a single person and is capable of autonomous takeoff and landing.
Northrop Grumman Corp. Aerospace Systems sector in San Diego is using the company’s Bat unmanned aircraft in the U.S. Air Force Sand Dragon B programme to defeat improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other roadside bombs.
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is evaluating aerial refuelling for the upgraded version of its Heron unmanned aircraft system, which is better equipped to perform maritime missions.