UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
UAV Factory in Latvia has announced that it has upgraded the options for the Penguin B small UAS, extending its range and capabilities. With a new on-board generator system, the Penguin B can now constantly supply 80W of dual-voltage power to payloads.
Ten years after Global Hawk’s first non-stop international flight from Edwards Air Force Base in California to RAAF Edinburgh near Adelaide, Northrop Grumman will feature a full-scale, reconfigurable Global Hawk in the outside display area at the Australian International Air Show which opens today at Avalon near Geelong, Victoria.
Northrop Grumman’s MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV) achieved a significant development milestone in November when it flew its first test flights from the U.S. Navy’s littoral combat ship, USS Freedom (LCS-1).
AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems announced yesterday that it has successfully completed an unmanned flight demonstration of a Small Sense and Avoid System (SSAASy) on a Shadow 200 UAS. The Shadow system has clocked up more than 600,000 flight hours, the majority of which have taken place in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The US Government is considering a combined MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper organizational-level maintenance contract starting on/about 1 October 2011 and is seeking industry input on how best to support Air Combat Command’s remotely piloted aircraft missions.
Kaman Aerospace Corporation and the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) recently made aviation history with the Unmanned K-MAX helicopter by successfully completing multiple guided airdrops via sling load at 10,000 ft above sea level.
AAI Shadow
Three naval entities collaborated to adapt a small radio receiver intended for space applications into a full-featured radio frequency system for a Marine Corps UAS. The Software Reprogrammable Payload (SRP), a joint effort between the Office of Naval Research, the Naval Research Laboratory and Marine Corps aviation, is currently targeted for the AAI Shadow.
Trident Systems has won a $49.5 million contract from the U.S. Navy to run the small UAS component of the Special Surveillance Programme (SSP) to detect and target terrorist forces engaged in planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs), sabotage, and attacking U.S. and allied military bases.