UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
Three years ago, the U.S. Navy began testing Northrop Grumman’s newest version of the Fire Scout, a helicopter drone derived from the Bell 407 utility helicopter, for use in active naval operations. Now it’s time for Northrop Grumman to start cashing in. Continue reading
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI) announced that its Predator-series family of aircraft, including MQ-1 Predator, MQ-9 Reaper, and MQ-1C Gray Eagle, has achieved a historic industry milestone: four million flight hours. The milestone was crossed on August 7th, with 291,331 total missions completed and 90% of all missions flown in combat. Continue reading
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.
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
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 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
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 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