R³ Engineering LLC has announced successful demonstration of autonomous collision avoidance during flight tests that took place the week of April 15th-19th at Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) in Arizona. Continue reading
Category Archives: Applications & Testing & Experience
Boeing’s X-48C Blended Wing Body Demonstrator Completes Flight Tests – Video
The Boeing X-48C research aircraft flew for the 30th and final time April 9, 2013, marking the successful completion of an eight-month flight-test programme to explore and further validate the aerodynamic characteristics of the Blended Wing Body design concept. Continue reading
Eurocopter’s Successful OPV Flights
Eurocopter’s ability to integrate unmanned flight capabilities into its helicopter family has been validated by an optionally piloted vehicle (OPV) demonstration programme, which used an EC145 to fly routes that included deployment of an external sling load and a representative observation mission. Continue reading
Successful ESA-EDA Flight Demonstration on RPAS Insertion into Civil Airspace
San Javier Air Base (Murcia) was selected to conduct the trials and demonstrate that satellite communications are suitable to operate Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) and integrate them into civil airspace. Continue reading
US Navy Tests Puma and Aerostat to Detect Drug Smugglers
Drug smugglers who race across the Caribbean in speedboats will typically jettison their cargo when spotted by surveillance aircraft, hoping any chance of prosecuting them will vanish with the drugs sinking to the bottom of the sea. Continue reading
DARPA Demonstrates Five-micron Pixel LWIR Camera
The military uses long-wave infrared (LWIR) cameras as thermal imagers to detect humans at night. These cameras are usually mounted on vehicles as they are too large to be carried by a single warfighter and are too expensive for individual deployment. However, DARPA researchers recently demonstrated a new five-micron pixel LWIR camera that could make this class of camera smaller and less expensive. Continue reading
Boeing X-48C Blended Wing Body Research Aircraft Completes Flight Testing
The Boeing X-48C research aircraft flew for the 30th and final time April 9, marking the successful completion of an eight-month flight-test programme to explore and further validate the aerodynamic characteristics of the Blended Wing Body design concept. Continue reading
South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Promotes Civil MALE UAS Development
The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is making progress in integrating national research and testing efforts aimed at putting technologies in place for a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial system through the Civil Commercial Unmanned Aerial System (CCUAS) project. Continue reading