The head of the US Air Force’s remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) Capabilities Division expects a major review to be complete by the end of September. Continue reading
Yearly Archives: 2013
US Department of Homeland Security Extends UAS Assessment Programme
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will soon be taking new applications for its unmanned aircraft assessment programme — a project that gives potential government customers at local, state, and federal levels an impartial evaluation of the strengths and costs of different systems.
Highly-accurate Railway Mapping Project in Australia
DroneMetrex has announced that it has successfully performed a high-precision railway mapping project in Australia. The company’s in-house developed TopoDrone-100 flew and reliably mapped 0,5 km on each of the four sides of the approach to the crossing intersection of the railway and the bitumen road with great accuracy.
US Navy Awards UCLASS Preliminary Design Contracts
Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems have each received a $15 million fixed-price contract for a preliminary design review (PDR) assessment for the US Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Launched Surveillance and Strike aircraft. Continue reading
Textron Unveils Battlehawk Loitering Munition
Textron Defense Systems unveiled a small UAS with an added special surprise—it’s also a flying hand grenade. Designed to be carried by an infantry squad, the BattleHawk is an approximately five-pound collapsible UAS with an onboard video camera, all packed in a spring-loaded launch tube.
US Navy Halts Work on Triton Sense-and-Avoid System
The US Navy has halted work on what had seemed the Pentagon’s most promising system to help UAS sense and avoid other aircraft. The system, built by ITT Exelis, is “behind schedule” and the Navy has “made a decision to pause on the capability right now,” Navy Captain Jim Hoke, programme manager for the Northrop Grumman Triton said. Continue reading
US Government to Publish Small UAS Rule by Year End
The U.S. government should release a draft regulation governing the operation of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) by the end of the year, federal officials told the Unmanned Systems Conference this week. Continue reading
Northrop Offers Sandshark Trainer on Lease Basis
Northrop Grumman is pitching a new method of UAS pilot training to the Air Force and U.S. Customs and Border Protection based on a business model likely to gain in popularity as the UAS revolution expands into civilian airspace: “fee for service.”