UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
Richard Evans is IT manager for SpawGlass, a Texas-based general contractor who believes that using UAS at construction sites an idea that will fly.“These can get in close where helicopters can’t. They will become commonplace in the construction industry,” he said. Continue reading
MBDA has successfully demonstrated its Dual Mode BRIMSTONE missile on an MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), scoring nine direct hits against a range of targets including very high speed and manoeuvring vehicles.
The US Navy’s MQ-4C Triton completed its initial flight test phase at Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, California, facility March 13, bringing the unmanned air system one step closer to introduction to the fleet in 2017.
Colorado start-up company Iron Ridge UAS sees UAS technology as a huge opportunity economically. And it intends to position itself to be a leader in the industry by the time the Federal Aviation Administration issues its rules governing commercial UAS use in a few years. Which is why Iron Ridge appeared before the Airport Advisory Board and the Longmont City Council. Continue reading
Three UAS on retractable dog leashes fly overhead, capturing live aerial video of the all the faces gaping from auditorium seats below. Welcome to TED 2014.The leashes are held by Sergei Lupshin, the Zurich-based roboticist who invented these tethered quadcopters. He calls them Fotokites, and the idea is to show that a leash can completely change the nature of a UAS. Continue reading
Skycatch CEO Chris Sanz discusses the possible commercial applications for drones. Continue reading
Cadets in the US Air Force Academy’s Systems Engineering 460 course are engineering a remotely piloted aircraft programme and platform to monitor ponderosa pine trees for beetle infestations. They’re set to select a sensor for their RPA that can scan trees in near-infrared and visible light wavelengths to spot ips beetle infestations.
During a flight in May 2009, an Edwards RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 20 remotely piloted aircraft (tail number 2016) encountered a complete spoiler communication loss and had to execute an emergency landing on the dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base. During landing, the aircraft sustained major damage to the right main landing gear and wing when it struck a precision approach path indicator light.