The U.S. Army announced April 10 that it is seeking $5 billion in fiscal 2014 to buy or upgrade its helicopter fleet and acquire more large and small unmanned aircraft to provide ground troops with better intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Continue reading
Yearly Archives: 2013
H4 Rescue & Aerial Fire Fighting Forum in Aix en Provence, France
Flying Robots S.A., based in Geneva, Switzerland, participates, thanks to Pôle Pegase, in an European project designated “H4 Rescue”, defining requirements for Large VTOL (FTH Eurocopter), or Very Short TOL Transport RPAS (Flying Robots S.A.), or a Large Airship (Euro Airship), used for transporting loads to crisis sites (last mile). In particular, it examines their deployment in civil emergency scenarios, like fires, floods, earthquakes, and environmental disasters. Continue reading
BAE Prepares Taranis Tests at Woomera
The most secretive piece of airspace in Australia – the RAAF-run Woomera flight test range in South Australia – will make history later this year when BAE’s Taranis makes its maiden test flight above the desert. The rocket range is the second busiest launch pad in the world after NASA’s Cape Canaveral in Florida. Continue reading
Iranian UAS Built in Gaza
Israel recently destroyed two UAS development sites in Gaza that were using Iranian knowhow to build basic unmanned air systems (UAS). Continue reading
Oregon State University UAS to Monitor Potato Crops
Researchers with Oregon State University believe new remote-controlled aircraft could help farmers better manage resources in the field, lowering their costs while increasing yield of high-value crops. Continue reading
Unmanned OctoCopter Crashes into Thames Filming TV Show
A scuba diver has told how he recovered vital footage of the new series of The X Factor after answering an SOS call from producers to retrieve a video camera from the Thames. Continue reading
Accident Investigators Fail to Identify Cause of MQ-1B Predator Mishap
Shortly after losing its satellite data link Sept. 18, 2012, an MQ-1 B Predator crashed in a U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, according to an Air Combat Command Accident Investigation Board report released last week. Continue reading
Northern Ireland Police Get £1M UAS Budget for G8 Surveillance
The Policing Board has endorsed proposals by the Police Service of Northern Ireland to buy a number of unmanned aircraft systems. It is understood that the Police Service of Northern Ireland is to purchase three small UAS at a combined cost of around £1m. Continue reading