AeroVironment Inc. posted a first-quarter loss of $1.4 million, or 6 cents a share, brought on by decreased sales of its unmanned aircraft. Continue reading
Author Archives: The Editor
Ars Electronica World Record with 49 Swarming Quadcopters at Arts Festival
The highlight of this year’s Voestalpine Klangwolke Festival in Linz, Austria, was a choreographed air show with 49 quadcopters equipped with LEDs. Ars Electronica Futurelab and Ascending Technologies GmbH set a world record with the largest swarm of these “quadrocopters” outdoors at the same time. Continue reading
Syrian Rebels Build DIY Unmanned Aircraft
This video shows what is believed to be the first Free Syrian Army UAS. Continue reading
UAS Mapping Underground Faults and Fractures in Surprise Valley
From September 1-13, a team of scientists and engineers are collecting magnetic data using ground surveys and a UAS, to map the geophysics below the surface of Surprise Valley, a quiet rural community of about 1,000, set amidst a vast high desert landscape dotted with hot springs and dry lakebeds in the northeastern corner of California. Continue reading
Pentagon Lists 66 Countries Eligible to Buy American UAS
As many as 66 countries would be eligible to buy American UAS under new Defense Department guidelines but Congress and the State Department, which have a final say, have not yet opened the spigots for exports, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday. Continue reading
MQ-1B Predator Crash Due to Engine Failure – Accident Board Report
Irreversible engine failure caused the crash of an MQ-1B Predator April 14, 2012, into an unpopulated mountainside in Afghanistan, according to an Air Combat Command Abbreviated Accident Investigation Board report released on Tuesday. Continue reading
General Atomics MQ-9 Block 1-plus Aircraft Completes Successful First Flight
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. announced the successful first flight of the Block 1-plus Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper, an upgrade to the original Block 1 Predator B that has been in production since 2003. Continue reading
Aeroscraft Zeppelin Combines Aircraft and Airship Technologies
Inside the 17-story mammoth wooden blimp hangars at the former military base in Tustin that rise above southern Orange County, Worldwide Aeros Corp. is building a blimp-like airship designed for the military to carry tons of cargo to remote areas around the world. Continue reading