Sharper Shape and SkySkopes, in cooperation with an investor owned utility, have developed an innovative and unique way to use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for powerline construction. The mission used the Sharper A6 UAS to string sock lines for a 675 kV line construction project. Continue reading
Author Archives: The Editor
New DragonFire Laser Weapon for UK Royal Navy
A new laser weapon demonstrator being built for the UK Ministry of Defence has been unveiled by the UK Dragonfire consortium at DSEI 2017 in London. Known as the Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) Capability Demonstrator Programme (CDP), the effort will see UK Dragonfire trial this new sovereign capability in the maritime and land domains in 2019. Continue reading
Small Consumer Drones Unlikely to Cause Head Injury
Researchers at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, the site of an FAA-sanctioned drone testing facility, concluded that the risks of a catastrophic head injury were less than 5 percent in an impact with a 2.6-pound unmanned vehicle, according to results published in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering. Continue reading
Belarusian Drones in Zapad 2017 Army Exercise
The unmanned helicopter Indela I.N.SKY of Belarusian make will take part in the Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2017, the press service of the State Military Industrial Committee of Belarus told BelTA. Continue reading
General Atomics Gets $30M MDA Reaper Contract
General Atomics has received a one-year, $30.3 million contract from the Missile Defense Agency to demonstrate passive configured MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles. Continue reading
The Drone World Expo 2017 Interviews – Adi Singh
In the fifth of a series of interviews with key figures involved in the success of Drone World Expo, we talked to Adi Singh, Principal Scientist, UAV Systems, Research & Advanced Engineering, Ford Motor Company. Adi leads strategic innovations in drone technology and established Ford’s research program on drones, developing a roadmap for product development initiatives.
He established the company research center in Palo Alto as an FAA designated UAV Operating Area (UAO) and is a Member of the FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). He is also FAA licensed sUAS Pilot-in-Command. Continue reading
US Border Patrol to Test the Operational Use of sUAS
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) will begin evaluating Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) in the operational environment this month as part of a pilot program. Testing will take place in three USBP sectors beginning with Tucson followed by Rio Grande Valley and Swanton later this year. Continue reading
FAA Helps Florida Drone Operators to Speed Hurricane Recovery
After the widespread devastation Hurricane Irma wreaked on Florida last weekend, unmanned aircraft – more popularly, drones – have been invaluable in supporting response and recovery efforts in the battered Sunshine State. Continue reading