Neal Blue is a brand new member of The Forbes 400. Blue, 84 (estimated net worth $4.1 billion), who as chairman and 80% owner of San Diego-based defense contractor General Atomics (his brother Linden, 83, owns the other 20%, worth another billion) first introduced the Predator drone into the skies 25 years ago to surveil Serbian forces during the Clinton administration. Continue reading
Author Archives: The Editor
Hyundai and Uber Announce Aerial Ridesharing Partnership
Hyundai Motor Company and Uber have announced a new partnership to develop Uber Air Taxis for a future aerial ride share network and unveiled a new full-scale aircraft concept at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Hyundai is the first automotive company to join the Uber Elevate initiative, bringing automotive-scale manufacturing capability and a track record of mass-producing electric vehicles. Continue reading
MQ-9 Demos Maritime Surveillance and Detect and Avoid Capabilities
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) concluded a series of flight demonstrations using its MQ-9 Guardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) on December 19, 2019. The demonstrations showcased the maritime surveillance capabilities of the MQ-9, and the GA-ASI-developed Detect and Avoid (DAA) system for traffic-deconfliction in civil airspace. Continue reading
Football-size Transformable Drone at CES 2020
Robotic Research LLC, a provider of autonomy and robotic technologies to commercial and federal customers, will be debuting a new football-size transformable drone, the Pegasus Mini, at CES 2020. The Mini is a smaller version of the original Pegasus, introduced in August, which established a new category of transformable unmanned autonomous vehicles (hybrid unmanned aircraft system/unmanned ground vehicle) that both drive on land and fly. Continue reading
Task Force to Probe Source of Mysterious Drones over Colorado
The night-time drone flights over parts of rural Colorado and Nebraska that have baffled investigators will now be the subject of a multi-agency task force, federal and state authorities announced. Continue reading
Colorado Drone Sightings Could Have a Simple Explanation
The mysterious drone swarms spotted over Colorado that have vexed the governor, law enforcement and residents might not be so mysterious after all. While no one has taken responsibility, and even the Federal Aviation Administration has claimed ignorance, the answer could be a secretive Air Force program intended to keep prying eyes away from nuclear missile silos. Continue reading
India to Start BVLOS Test Flights
India will soon conduct ‘Beyond Visual Line of Sight’ (BVLOS) test flights of drone systems for the creation of last-mile air delivery connectivity in the country. Continue reading
Indonesia Launches Domestically-Built Armed UAV
State-owned Indonesian aerospace company PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) unveiled a domestically developed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on December 30. Designed to meet the requirements of the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU), the UAV bears a strong resemblance to the Chinese CASC CH-4, which is in operation with the TNI-AU in small numbers. The vehicle has yet to be named but is referred to as the Pesawat Udara Nir Awak jenis Medium Altitude Long Endurance (PUNA MALE, unmanned MALE aircraft). Continue reading