Researchers at two German universities have tested an experimental automatic landing system on a light aircraft that uses optical information from onboard cameras and satellite positioning data, instead of ground-based navigation aids. Continue reading
Category Archives: Applications & Testing & Experience
SESAR JU GOF U-Space Project: First Demos Successfully Completed
The first two demos in the Gulf of Finland (GOF) U-space project mark a leap forward in the implementation of unmanned traffic management (UTM) in Europe.
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Textron Completes Testing of Shadow Block III Upgrades
Textron’s Aerosonde HQ is a possible replacement for the company’s Shadow UAV. Its hybrid quadrotor technology makes it runway-independent and capable of vertical takeoff and landing
Textron has confirmed that it has completed test flights of the Block III upgrade configuration for its Shadow UAV, which when introduced will add more capability and reliability to the U.S. Army’s in-service fleet. Continue reading
Safran’s Patroller Undertakes Qualification Test Flights
The Patroller tactical drone, developed and produced in France by Safran Electronics & Defense, has started the final phase of the industrial qualification at the Istres DGA flight test center in southern France. Continue reading
Black Swift Develops Swarming Drones for Hurricane Tracking
Black Swift Technologies, a specialized engineering firm based in Boulder, CO, announced that it has been awarded a NOAA contract to develop an air-deployed unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to perform lower boundary layer observations in difficult atmospheric conditions that are commonly encountered in convective storms, e.g. hurricanes and tropical cyclones. Continue reading
SkyGuardian Surpasses 100 Test Flights
The MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) – designed and developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI) – has now flown more than 100 test flights as development continues towards its first delivery to the Royal Air Force (RAF) as part of the Protector RG Mk1 programme. Continue reading
NASA Tests BVLoS in Reno
Two drones fly above Lake Street in downtown Reno, Nev., on, as part of a NASA simulation
NASA has launched the final stage of a four-year effort to develop a national traffic management system for drones, testing them in cities for the first time beyond the operator’s line of sight as businesses look in the future to unleash the unmanned devices in droves above busy streets and buildings. Continue reading
NMSU Student Project Improves UAV Flight Time
Jesus Rosales, a New Mexico State University mechanical engineering Ph.D. student
A research project in the College of Engineering at New Mexico State University is focused on increasing the endurance of UAS, or unmanned aerial systems. Continue reading