The U.S. Navy plans to take the Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System-Demonstrator (UCAS-D) aircraft out to sea onboard an aircraft carrier this summer to test how well it operates together with manned aircraft around the ship and on the flight deck. Continue reading
Category Archives: Applications & Testing & Experience
UAS Flies First Long-Duration Test Using Repurposed Satellite
Using a repurposed commercial satellite, US Air Force crews flew MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers from Creech Air Force Base, Nev., during multiple missions in November and December.
Queensland Researchers Make Progress on Detect-and-Avoid
Queensland University of Technology Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) researchers have made what’s believed to be a world-first breakthrough for small Unmanned Aircraft (UA), developing an on board system that has enabled a UA to detect another aircraft using vision while in flight. Continue reading
Taranis First Flight Footage
BAE Systems has just released this footage of Taranis, the stealthy unmanned combat aircraft demonstrator, filmed during its initial flight trials. Continue reading
UK Analysing Reaper Results with Brimstone Missile
A potential alternative weapon for the Royal Air Force’s General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Reaper remotely piloted air systems has undergone initial firing trials, in co-operation with the US Air Force’s Big Safari programme office. Continue reading
3D Game Maker uses senseFly UAS to Map Entire Planet
Games maker PIXYUL plans on UAS-sourcing and mapping the entire planet, one square kilometer at a time. The UAS are equipped with digital HD cameras and their data will be processed with 3D software to render into in-game terrain. If that sounds overly ambitious, it is. And that’s why it won’t be happening all at once and will be combined with procedural generation for certain parts of the world, such as the major oceans and restricted areas that will never be accessible to UAS. Continue reading
Northrop Grumman BAMS Surpasses 10,000 Combat Flying Hours
The Northrop Grumman Corporation built unmanned demonstrator aircraft used for maritime surveillance missions by the U.S. Navy surpassed 10,000 combat flying hours supporting intelligence-gathering missions in the Middle East. Continue reading
UAS Precision Agriculture Services Expand in the UK
A conference on agricultural UAS at Harper Adams College n the UK last week was certainly well-attended. But will these high-tech/high-price pieces of equipment prove to be the answer to arable farmers’ crop surveillance needs? Continue reading