After soaring the skies of Afghanistan in missions totalling more than three years, Australia’s Heron surveillance drones and their operators are heading home.The Heron unarmed remotely piloted aircraft completed more than 27,000 mission hours since starting operations in August 2009.
Category Archives: Military UAS
Bulgaria Gets 4 VTOL UAVs
Four UAV Solutions Phoenix 30 vertical take-off and landing unmanned air vehicles have been delivered to the Bulgarian national military forces under a foreign military sale agreement with the US government. Continue reading
Russia Establishes Military UAV Unit
Russia has reportedly established a dedicated unmanned air vehicle unit in the eastern region of Chukotka, believed to stem from a $9.2 billion investment in the technology pledged by the nation’s defence ministry in May. Continue reading
Portuguese Air Force to have UAS Fleet in 2 years
The Portuguese Air Force (FAP) is working on the development of a new unmanned aerial vehicle weighing 500-600 pounds. The FAP wants to create a new fleet of drones to patrol and monitoring of maritime space. Continue reading
Royal Navy’s First UAS Squadron
The UK Royal Navy’s first squadron of unmanned aircraft has been formed in Cornwall. The 700X Naval Air Squadron has been established at RNAS Culdrose, Helston, to fly the pilotless aircraft. The Royal Navy said the establishment of the new squadron would pave the way for increased use of similar aircraft in the future.
Lockheed Updates Unmanned U-2 Concept
Lockheed Martin has crafted a reduced-cost plan to “optionally man” its U-2, throwing a new possibility into the mix as Congress weighs whether to shift to an all-Northrop Grumman Global Hawk unmanned aircraft fleet for high-altitude reconnaissance. With an optionally manned U-2, advocates for the so-called Dragon Lady say the venerable aircraft finally can match the endurance offered by the RQ-4B Global Hawk. Convincing lawmakers and the Pentagon likely will be an uphill battle, though. Continue reading
Japan to Buy Three Global Hawks
Japan will buy three Global Hawks and may fly them out of Misawa Air Base, according to Japanese media. State Broadcaster NHK and the Kyodo news agency reported Monday on plans to buy the Northrop Grumman-built Global Hawks along with four E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early-warning aircraft. Continue reading
Iran Showcases New Version of Mohajer-Class UAS
An upgraded version of Mohajer (Migrant), one of Iran’s homegrown Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), has gone public with distinguishing features compared to its older model. Continue reading