UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
The US Marines have ditched their plan to field a very large drone on amphibious ships, instead breaking the four-year-old MUX program into a family of systems that will include a very large land-based unmanned aerial vehicle and a medium-sized one for shipboard operations. Continue reading
A remotely piloted aircraft student pilot, operates an MQ-9 flight simulator for training at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, Dec. 10, 2019. The 49th Wing is the largest formal training unit for MQ-9 RPA pilots and sensor operators
The US Air Force has approved changes to medical standards for remotely piloted aircraft pilots, which went into effect February 28. Continue reading
The budget committee of the Bundestag, the German parliament, approved more than EUR36 million to ensure the continued operation of the System für die Abbildende Aufklärung in der Tiefe des EinsatzGebietes (Image Intelligence Deep in the Deployment Area, SAATEG) in Afghanistan using Heron 1 unmanned aerial systems leased from Israel until the end of May 2021. Continue reading
On Friday, a missile fired by a Turkish drone destroyed a Russian-made Pantsir-S1 deployed by the Syrian Army in Idlib province. This video released by Turkish media, shows an active Syrian Pantsir being destroyed by a Turkish drone. Continue reading
Houthi-produced UAVs on display at an exhibition in Sanaa, Yemen, 7 July 2019
In July 2019, Houthi forces unveiled a collection of UAVs, which they claimed to have manufactured domestically. Eight types of Houthi-manufactured UAV have been identified in media reporting: Hudhed-1, Raqib, Rased and Sammad-1 (Reconnaissance UAVs – although the Sammad-1 can be weaponised), and Qasef-1, Qasef-2K, Sammad-2 and Sammad-3 (Combat UAVs).
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI) has announced that it will host Blue Magic Belgium (BMB) again this year. Initiated in 2019, BMB is a GA-ASI industrial collaboration event held to identify Belgian technology companies interested in supporting the development of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian RPA. Continue reading
General Atomics has revealed what appears to be a previously unknown unmanned aircraft concept, called Defender, that is capable of air-to-air combat and mid-air refueling. The company says that its primary mission would be to protect “high-value airborne assets,” such as airborne early warning and control aircraft, standoff reconnaissance planes, and aerial refuelling tankers. Continue reading
A General Atomics official said the company is surprised by the Air Force’s plan to stop buying new MQ-9 Reapers in fiscal 2020, after expecting to gradually wind down the production line. Continue reading