Just 7 months after the Ministry of Defence ordered the system from Boeing Defence UK, ScanEagle took off from HMS Somerset in the Gulf. The system, which can be launched by a pneumatic catapult from Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, is unarmed and used for real-time intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance only.
Category Archives: Military UAS
Global Hawk First Flight from Misawa
The RQ-4 Global Hawk made its first operational flight out of Misawa Air Base on June 6. The flight marked two milestones: the first time an RQ-4 mission has flown out of Japan, and the first operational mission flown out of a jointly-used civilian and military airfield. Continue reading
Can Europe Ever Build a Workable UAS ?
There’s great interest in Europe developing a homegrown UAS-building programme “to add reconnaissance and strike capability at lesser cost and risk to service members.”
Airbus to Team with Textron on French Tactical UAS
Airbus Group is in discussions to team with US firm Textron Systems for a forthcoming unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) requirement, Airbus revealed on 17 June.
MQ-8B Fire Scout Gets Long-Range Radar
Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy demonstrated a new multimode maritime surveillance radar on the MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter that will drastically enhance long-range imaging and search capabilities for Navy commanders.
Iran Wants UAS to Patrol Pakistan Border
“We are in the process of signing contracts with the manufacturing companies to use UAS for protecting the country’s borders,” Commander of the Iranian Border Guards Units General Hossein Zolfaqari told reporters last week.
Airbus Wants to Become Major UAS Supplier
Airbus Defence & Space is determined to establish itself in the top tier of global unmanned air vehicle suppliers, with a joint MALE 2020 project being proposed with Alenia Aermacchi and Dassault intended to head the process. Continue reading
Successful Simultaneous Manned, Unmanned Helicopter Flight Tests Aboard Littoral Combat Ship
Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy successfully flew the unmanned MQ-8B Fire Scout simultaneously with the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter for the first time. The capability demonstrates how a mix of aircraft can increase a ship commander’s intelligence-gathering capabilities aboard the Littoral Combat Ship. Continue reading