Category Archives: Business News

Skycatch Raises $3M from Investors Including Google for UAS for Energy Industry

SkycatchThe egg white UAS lifted off from its ground station at a hospital construction site here, hovered for an instant, then zoomed off, sounding like a five-pound bee as it buzzed around the cranes towering over the six-acre project. Capable of carrying a high-resolution camera and other sensors, the quadcopter, a helicopter with four rotors that resembles a spaceship from a 1950s science fiction movie, was flying in a demonstration of its ability to serve a potentially lucrative new market for UAS: the energy industry. Continue reading

Textron Unmanned Systems at 4,500 Hours Per Month with New US Navy ISR Contract

Aerosonde

Textron Systems Unmanned Systems has  announced a new task order under the U.S. Navy Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Services programme that is expected to reach full operational capability by the end of May. Award of this new task order is in addition to extension of existing task orders, bringing the total monthly mission hours provided under the contract to 4,500 across all international sites. Continue reading

Lockheed Martin Kestrel Autopilot and Indago UAS Cleared for Export

Indago2
The Lockheed Martin Kestrel autopilot has received its commodity jurisdiction, allowing for quick, affordable deployments for international markets. The Kestrel autopilot and a version of the vertical takeoff and lift Indago quad-rotor unmanned aircraft system (UAS) are no longer restricted by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and they are now controlled under the Export Administration Regulations. Continue reading

UAV Industry Winners and Losers in 2015 US Defense Department Budget

AAI_ShadowUnmanned Aerial Vehicles, or UAVs, have emerged as the largest growth industry in the global aerospace industry, with worldwide expenditures projected to reach $89 billion by 2025. However, with the commercial use of drones awaiting Federal Aviation Administration regulations, and considering that export licenses are difficult to obtain, U.S. companies remain dependent on government contracts to fuel their contributions to the UAV industry’s growth.

Continue reading