Aviation Capital Enterprises, Inc. of Canada has entered into an exclusive contractual agreement with Lockheed Martin to design, develop, build, flight test and Federal Aviation Administration certify a family of hybrid airship. Based on Lockheed Martin’s P-791, a fully functional manned flight demonstrator, the commercial 20 ton variant is called SkyTug.
Category Archives: Applications & Testing & Experience
Structural Proof Testing of X-47B Completed Successfully
X-47B AV-2 Undergoes Proof Load Test Photo: Norhrop Grumman
Following a rigorous, five-week series of structural proof tests of the jet’s airframe, the US Navy /Northrop Grumman test team have proven that the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System will be able to withstand all of the structural stresses and strains associated with takeoff, flight and landing – including those uniquely linked with landing or taking off from the moving, pitching deck of an aircraft carrier.
India’s Lakshya Target Flies Low
© ADE
India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation announced that it has conducted low-altitude trials (down to 82ft – 25m) with its Lakshya-2 unmanned aerial target.
Iran Reveals Unmanned Flying Saucer
Iran's Unmanned Flying Tea Cup
The official Iranian news service, the Fars News Agency has announced that the Islamic Republic has built an unmanned flying saucer. Quote from the release:
Cassidian’s Ram-Air Cargo Parachute System is a UAS – Official Certification
Cassidian ParaLander - A UAS by Any Other Name
The ParaLander ram-air cargo parachute system, developed and produced by Cassidian, has been approved for operational deployment by the Bundeswehr Technical Centre (WTD) 61 in cooperation with Cassidian in Manching. ParaLander was classified as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) following extensive flight testing.
IAI Abandons Unmanned Helicopter Conversions
Israel Aerospace Industries has abandoned its programme of converting manned helicopters into unmanned aircraft. IAI had been helping Hindustan Aeronautics in India to convert an existing helicopter for unmanned operations. However in the absence of a defined budget by the Indian Government, it withdrew from the project.
IBC to Develop Lightweight Beryllium Aluminium Alloys for UAS
IBC Advanced Alloys announced that it has entered into a Development and Technical Services accord with the US Navy’s Tactical Multi-Mission Unmanned Aerial Systems Programme and the US Military’s Army Research Laboratory (ARL) based in Aberdeen, Maryland to assess the use of lightweight beryllium aluminium alloys in the Beralcast series.
X-47B Flight Tests Expanded
X-47B Landing at Edwards Air Force Base
Less than a month after the first flight of the U.S. Navy’s X-47B UCAS-Demonstration aircraft, flight test engineers from Northrop Grumman and the Navy have successfully completed the aircraft’s second and third flights. The flights, both conducted at Edwards Air Force Base, mark the beginning of the envelope expansion process to prove that the tailless aircraft can perform safely over a broad range of altitudes, air speeds and operating weights.