Author Archives: The Editor

NUAIR Alliance and Thales Join Forces on UTM Research

Frank Matus, director of strategy and business development at Thales (left), and Major General Marke F. “Hoot” Gibson (ret), CEO of the NUAIR Alliance

The Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR), a coalition of New York and Massachusetts aerospace and academic institutions has signed a multi-year collaboration agreement with Thales. The agreement supports NUAIR’s efforts to safely integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into traditional, controlled airspace and supports its ability to conduct operations at its New York UAS test site’s 50-mile UAS traffic management (UTM) corridor. Continue reading →

Quantum-Systems Maps Oktoberfest Ground for First Responders

Quantum-Systems flew the Tron electric hybrid UAV above the Theresienwiese in Munich, scene of the Oktoberfest which attracts between 5 and 6 million visitors over a two-week period every year. It flew at a height of 170 m for 10 minutes to record data for evaluation. During the Oktoberfest, this data provides the rescue and security forces with a high-precision 3D map as a basis for planning operations. Continue reading →

Dedrone Launches Drone Swarm Detection Capabilities

Dedrone, a developer of drone detection software, has announced the launch of DroneTracker 3.5, which detects, localizes, and tracks simultaneous drones to protect against advanced drone threats. DroneTracker 3.5 software, hosted in the cloud or on-premise, uses Dedrone’s DroneDNA database to recognize and classify RF, WiFi, and autonomous drones approximately one kilometer away from a protected site. Continue reading →

Northrop Grumman Gets $65M US Navy Contract for Triton Support

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland, is awarded $64,800,000 for firm-fixed-price delivery order N0001918F2470 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0026).  This delivery order provides for the low rate initial production 3 initial spares operational requirement to support organizational level maintenance for the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft System Multi-Function Active Sensor (MFAS).  Continue reading →

Improving Cellular Network Coverage with UAVs

RUDN University mathematicians have simulated the work of a cellular network and modelled the use of unmanned aerial vehicles as additional transmitters. Most of the available communication systems have flat coverage and do not take into account the difference in altitude, which results in the appearance of the so-called “blind” zones. Flying drones could solve this issue. Continue reading →