UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
Heron TP © Israel Aerospace Industries
Dassault has proposed an interim solution consisting of leasing Israel Aerospace Industries Heron TP UAS to answer the urgent operational needs of the French Armed Forces. The news was announced by Dassault chief executive Charles Edelstenne to the lower house of the French Parliament during a recent discussion.
The US Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office, Acquisitions Operations Group is performing a market survey to determine if there are any interested and qualified companies or distributors supplying Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for under $30,000, including delivery, set-up, etc. .
BAE Systems has just announced its year end results for 2010 returning to a net profit, but warning of the impact of defence budget cuts in Britain and the United States. Earnings after tax hit £1.05 billion ($1.69 billion, €1.25 billion) last year, compared with a net loss of £67 million in 2009.
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AeroVironment has unveiled its ‘Nano Hummingbird’ – capable of climbing and descending vertically, flying sideways left and right, flying forward and backward, as well as rotating clockwise and counter-clockwise, under remote control and carrying a video camera payload. The milestone was part of the Phase II contract awarded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) programme.
U.S. Navy UAS experts are temporarily shelving plans to contract with the Northrop Grumman Corp. to develop a common ground-control station for the Global Hawk and Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) UAS. Naval officials need more time to re-work requirements for the project, which would have been part of Northrop Grumman’s BAMS system development and demonstration project. For the official notification from FedBizzOps, click here.
The Maharashtra State Government has included 24 UAS on a list of equipment being procured for the Mumbai Police Force, according to the Mumbai Mirror newspaper. Funding for the 1.1-billion-rupee ($24 million) programme, which includes other anti-terrorist kit, would be met by the state and central governments.
The US Defence Budget for 2012 requests 1,395 new UAS, down from the 1,545 that Congress approved for 2010.
General Atomics has announced that it has successfully completed a key wind tunnel test on a model of its Sea Avenger UAS. The test validated the low-speed characteristics of a new wing, resulting in higher endurance and lower approach speeds. The new wing is also designed to increase aircraft dash speeds, decreasing the time to respond to potential threats.