Airbus Group SE wants to become a major player in the fast-growing global drone industry, said its chief executive, Tom Enders, after years of missteps by the European plane maker that have left rivals with the upper hand. Continue reading
Category Archives: Military UAS
Royal Navy Unmanned Warrior Demonstration Coordinates 50 Vehicles, Sensors and Systems
QinetiQ is to demonstrate the integration of unmanned systems into Royal Navy operations, under a £1m contract with the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD). Continue reading
ScanEagle VTOL Launch System
The quadcopter-based contraption Insitu and Hood Technology have developed for launching the ScanEagle – the flying launch and recovery system (FLARES) – should be ready for production by late 2017.
US Navy MQ-25 CBARS RFP Expected by Summer
A risk-reduction request for proposals (RfP) for the US Navy’s MQ-25 unmanned air vehicle acquisition is expected to be released “this summer”, which will help set out the timeline in which the service can realistically expect the tanker system to be deployed on-board its carrier fleet.
Certifiable Predator Completes Fuselage Structural Integrity Testing
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has announced that it has successfully completed fuselage structural integrity testing of its Certifiable Predator B (CPB) RPA.
Kratos Breaking into the UCAV Market
Kratos Defense is gaining ground in the unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) market traditionally dominated by the world’s largest defence firms and privately-held General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in the USA, having captured at least one significant classified contract and most recently winning a place on the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) “Gremlins” project.
AeroVironment Begins Production of Switchblade Upgrade
At the Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit AeroVironment, Inc. announced it has developed a block upgrade, designated Block 10C, to its already fielded Switchblade Tactical Missile system. The Digital Data Link (DDL) incorporated into Block 10C provides a stable and secure encrypted communication link that enables more efficient use of existing frequency bands and significantly reduces the likelihood of signal interception. Frequency efficiency and secure communications are critical to warfighters in today’s complex operational environment.
Arcturus T-20 JUMP Deployed with the Mexican Navy
Arcturus UAV reports that the Mexican Navy has deployed their T-20 JUMP Fixed Wing VTOL UAV for unspecified operations in Mexico. The customer took delivery of the VTOL system in March.