Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully flew a RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft for the first time using open architecture-based command and control software and hardware developed by the company, moving the company one step closer to offering its common Mission Management Control System (MMCS) product, which can be implemented across various unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to improve mission effectiveness and reduce training requirements. Continue reading
Category Archives: Applications & Testing & Experience
Boeing’s Phantom Eye Completes Taxi Tests and Software Upgrades
With its wings stretching 150 feet across the lakebed of Edwards Air Force Base, Boeing’s Phantom Eye – the liquid hydrogen-powered high altitude long endurance unmanned aircraft system completed its latest series of taxi tests in preparation for its return to flight. Continue reading
GA-ASI Successfully Tests Prototype Due Regard Radar Aboard Predator B
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. announced the successful flight test of a prototype of its Due Regard Radar (DRR), a company-funded air-to-air radar system that supports GA-ASI’s overall airborne Sense and Avoid (SAA) architecture for Predator B RPA. Continue reading
Open Source Nano Quadcopter for $149 from Sweden
Marcus Eliasson, Arnaud Taffanel, and Tobias Antonsson are the engineers behind the Swedish startup Bitcraze now accepting pre-orders for a palm-sized quadcopter called the Crazyflie Nano. Continue reading
4 Teams Selected for BORDERS Small Unmanned Aircraft System Competition
A team of aerospace engineering students from Oklahoma State University has been selected by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to move to the next phase of the BORDERS Small Unmanned Aircraft System Competition. Continue reading
US Army Plans to Deploy UAS for Expeditionary Missions
The US Army’s development and integration of unmanned aircraft into its units has taken place mostly at entrenched bases in Afghanistan and Iraq, but new strategic guidance calls for lighter, more agile forces. Continue reading
Russian-assembled Searcher Test Flights
Russia’s Ural Works of Civil Aviation (UZGA) has performed the first flight of a locally-assembled Israel Aerospace Industries Searcher II unmanned aircraft. Continue reading
NASA’s X48-C Blended Wing Body Prototype – New Photos
The X-48 is a Blended Wing Body aircraft, which is something of a halfway house between a flying wing and a conventional airplane (i.e. one with a distinct fuselage and wings). Continue reading