Search and Rescue Teams from around the top of New Zealand’s South Island met in the Molesworth Station at the weekend for a LandSAR exercise. The teams were using unmanned aircraft systems as part of their live scenarios. Continue reading
Category Archives: Applications & Testing & Experience
UAS to Monitor Marshlands in New South Wales
The Australian Department of Environment and Heritage is investigating whether UAS will be cheaper and safer than putting staff on a helicopter to monitor the Macquarie Marshes wetlands. It’s starting a trial of the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) in the Marshes this week. Continue reading
Sheffield University 3D Prints UAS in Nine Parts
Engineers at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at the University of Sheffield have successfully printed a 1.5m-wide prototype unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for a research project looking at 3D printing of complex designs. Continue reading
US Army Issues RFI for Anti-UAS Laser Weapon System
Concerned about the emerging threat of unmanned aircraft, the US Army is canvassing American defence contractors for information on systems that can detect, classify and destroy UAS of varying sizes.According to the request for information (RFI), the army’s Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) is open to both “kinetic and non-kinetic options” – the latter referring to lasers. Continue reading
AG-Wing Helps Irrigation Planning in Olive Groves
IDETEC Unmanned Systems and the University of Talca (Chile) have conducted an operation to evaluate the benefits of AG-Wing unmanned aerial system in Olive crops. The system has collected multispectral geo-referenced images over a zone in the south of Chile. The operation was conducted on March 13, 2014. Continue reading
UAS in the Construction Industry
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
Dual Mode Brimstone Achieves Direct Hits in MQ-9 Reaper Testing
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.
Triton Completes Initial Flight Test Phase
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.