In the span of less than two years, Joe Noci and his wife, Gisela, went from working in the aeronautical drone industry in South Africa to building conservation drones out of their home in Namibia. Their SurVoyeur drones, which the Nocis design and build from scratch, have proven to be effective anti-poaching tools. As a result, Joe now finds himself on the front lines of anti-poaching work in Namibia
Author Archives: The Editor
UK Sets Out post-2030 Combat Aviation Force Plans
The UK has set out a future combat aviation force structure to meet the country’s post-2030 combat air requirement. In a House of Commons Defence Select Committee (DSC) report published in late July, the UK government sets out a future force structure that includes options for unmanned aircraft, additional buys and upgrades of ordered and current aircraft, as well as a clean-sheet design for a new manned fighter platform.
Arctic Thunder Air Show July 2014
Opening ceremony and U.S. Army Drop with Alaska Joint Forces demo during Arctic Thunder 2014 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska on July 26, 2014. Continue reading
MicroPilot Celebrates 20th Birthday
Stony Mountain company, MicroPilot, is celebrated its 20th anniversary last weekend and Howard Loewen hopes someday — maybe within the next five years — his company might become an overnight success. MicroPilot makes autopilot technology — autonomous flight operating systems — for unmanned aerial vehicles.
UK Launches Inquiry into Civil Use of Drones
The UK’s House of Lords is holding an enquiry into the civil use of drones, to determine whether the conditions are right “for the industry to take off”. In a call for submissions, aimed at gathering expert written and oral evidence as a precursor to its final report in March 2015, the Lords’ EU subcommittee on the internal market, infrastructure and employment said that the increased use of drones throws up “a multitude of questions”.
Details of Ukraine UAV Requirement Revealed
A contract for leased unmanned air vehicle (UAV) services in support of the security mission in Ukraine is expected to be awarded imminently, an industry source reveals. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) recently issued a solicitation for bids which closed on Friday, 25 July. It stipulates the requirement for a turnkey UAV solution for deployment in the conflicted east of the country.
Google Lease for Titan Aerospace Plant Approved
Officials are close to finalizing a deal for the state to appropriate nearly $1 million to Moriarty to run water and sewer lines to property leased by Google for an eventual 60,000-square-foot building where Titan Aerospace will produce its solar-powered drones. The Moriarty City Council will hold a special meeting Friday to consider an ordinance that would finalize a deal among the city, the state Economic Development Department and Google to construct infrastructure to the Moriarty Municipal Airport. Continue reading
NOAA Tests UAS for Wildlife Surveys and Environmental Research in Hawaii
NOAA scientists are testing two types of unmanned aircraft this summer to survey a variety of rare and endangered species, monitor remote marine areas, locate marine debris for removal and study fragile ecological features in the vast Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.