The UK Ministry of Defence issued a contract notification last month, with an estimated value of between £10 million ($16.4 million) and £20 million, for a Nano UAS to be deployed urgently in Afghanistan.
Category Archives: Military UAS
US Army RFI on Small Digital Data Link (SDDL) for Small Unmanned Aerial Systems
The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center have issued an RFI on behalf of the U.S. Army to obtain information to serve as a market survey to aid in research associated with the development of a SDDL designed to provide a secure data link for control and sensor data for small unmanned aerial systems and munitions over the operating temperatures ranges from -40 degrees Fahrenheit to +140 degrees Fahrenheit and withstand storage from -40 degrees Fahrenheit to +140 degrees Fahrenheit. High humidity shall not degrade operations. Interested parties should submit white papers not to exceed 20 pages. To view the full RFI from FedBizOpps click here.
India Issues RFI for VTOL-UAS
The Indian Air Force has issued a request for information for a small-sized vertical take-off and landing UAS. The requirement is for a battery- or fuel-operated UAS that weighs less than 10kg (22lb) and has an endurance of over 60min.
Global Hawk On Display in Australia
Ten years after Global Hawk’s first non-stop international flight from Edwards Air Force Base in California to RAAF Edinburgh near Adelaide, Northrop Grumman will feature a full-scale, reconfigurable Global Hawk in the outside display area at the Australian International Air Show which opens today at Avalon near Geelong, Victoria.
Firescout Completes Ship Landing Trials
Northrop Grumman’s MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV) achieved a significant development milestone in November when it flew its first test flights from the U.S. Navy’s littoral combat ship, USS Freedom (LCS-1).
AAI Shadow – DRA ‘Sense and Avoid’ Demo Works
AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems announced yesterday that it has successfully completed an unmanned flight demonstration of a Small Sense and Avoid System (SSAASy) on a Shadow 200 UAS. The Shadow system has clocked up more than 600,000 flight hours, the majority of which have taken place in Iraq and Afghanistan.
US Government RFI for Predator/Reaper Support
The US Government is considering a combined MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper organizational-level maintenance contract starting on/about 1 October 2011 and is seeking industry input on how best to support Air Combat Command’s remotely piloted aircraft missions.
Kaman K-MAX Makes Unmanned Sling Drops
Kaman Aerospace Corporation and the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) recently made aviation history with the Unmanned K-MAX helicopter by successfully completing multiple guided airdrops via sling load at 10,000 ft above sea level.