Under the RAPAZ Programme, the Spanish Ministry of Defence has signed a service contract with Spanish UAV manufacturer Unmanned Solutions (USOL) to assess operational capacities of USOL system ALCOTAN, a 3.5 kg fixed-wing UAV providing up to 1-hour autonomy and monitoring capabilities in visible and thermal spectrum.
Category Archives: Military UAS
DARPA Wants to Track UAS Over Urban Environments

Airspace for the flying public today is perpetually congested yet remarkably safe, thanks in no small part to a well-established air traffic control system that tracks, guides and continuously monitors thousands of flights a day. When it comes to small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) such as commercial quadcopters, however, no such comprehensive tracking system exists. Continue reading
US Army Research Lab Shows Aerial Resupply Vehicle
The commanding general of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command met with Army Research Laboratory officials Sept. 8, 2016, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Continue reading
BlueBird UAVs Integrated with New Payloads
BlueBird Aero Systems has integrated a high-definition surveillance sensor and a communications payload into two of its unmanned air vehicles – the SpyLite Mini and ThunderB small tactical system. Continue reading
USAF Selects Candidates for New RPA Bases
The US Air Force has selected candidate bases for a potential new MQ-9 Reaper wing with units at up to two locations. For the first location, the Air Force identified Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona; Moody AFB, Georgia; Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; Offutt AFB, Nebraska; and Shaw AFB, South Carolina, as candidate bases to potentially host an operations group with mission control elements.
Insitu Gets $10M US Navy Service Contract
Insitu Inc. is being awarded a $9,896,412 modification (0007) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-14-C-0070) to procure intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services using its unmanned aircraft system in support of the Navy. Continue reading
US Navy’s Autonomous Tactical Airborne Drone Project
There is little detail in the $1 million contract award posted on September 1st. The award, from the Army, but through the Pentagon’s brand-new tech-focused “Defense Innovation Unit Experimental” DIUx, is for a nine-month “prototype project in the area of Autonomous Tactical Airborne Drones.” Continue reading
Russia Develops Tilt-Rotor UAV
The VR-Technologies Design Bureau, part of Russian Нelicopters JSC, has developed the unique tilt-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle. The new RHV-35 unmanned convertible aircraft was unveiled at the international military and technical forum ARMY-2016.