Author Archives: The Editor

NTT DOCOMO and Space Compass Partner with Airbus on HAPS to Invest USD$100M in AALTO

A consortium of Japanese businesses led by NTT DOCOMO, Inc.  and Space Compass Corporation, together with Mizuho Bank Limited and the Development Bank of Japan Inc., has committed to invest USD$100m in AALTO HAPS Limited, which manufactures and operates the stratospheric, solar-powered Zephyr High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS). The investment will be made through the Japanese Consortium’s investment vehicle, HAPS JAPAN Corporation. Continue reading

Sikorsky Flight-Tests Scalable ‘Rotor Blown Wing’ UAS For DARPA Project

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, is conducting flight tests to mature the control laws and aerodynamics of a novel vertical takeoff and landing uncrewed aerial system (VTOL / UAS). The flight tests are intended to prove the efficiency and scalability of a twin proprotor ‘rotor blown wing’ configuration that sits on its tail to take-off and land like a helicopter, and transitions easily to horizontal forward flight for long-endurance missions, such as intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting. Continue reading