UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
Heron TP © Israel Aerospace Industries
Dassault has proposed an interim solution consisting of leasing Israel Aerospace Industries Heron TP UAS to answer the urgent operational needs of the French Armed Forces. The news was announced by Dassault chief executive Charles Edelstenne to the lower house of the French Parliament during a recent discussion.
U.S. Navy UAS experts are temporarily shelving plans to contract with the Northrop Grumman Corp. to develop a common ground-control station for the Global Hawk and Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) UAS. Naval officials need more time to re-work requirements for the project, which would have been part of Northrop Grumman’s BAMS system development and demonstration project. For the official notification from FedBizzOps, click here.
The US Defence Budget for 2012 requests 1,395 new UAS, down from the 1,545 that Congress approved for 2010.
General Atomics has announced that it has successfully completed a key wind tunnel test on a model of its Sea Avenger UAS. The test validated the low-speed characteristics of a new wing, resulting in higher endurance and lower approach speeds. The new wing is also designed to increase aircraft dash speeds, decreasing the time to respond to potential threats.
The US Air Force plans to establish three new active duty MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper UAS squadrons this year, along with six new Air National Guard units, and one Air Force Reserve squadron, said Col. James Gear, head of the service’s UAS task force speaking at a recent industry conference in Washington, D.C.
Air Force Col. Don Shaffer, UND President Robert Kelley
The University of North Dakota and representatives from the Grand Forks Air Force Base signed a historic lease agreement on Saturday, Feb. 12, providing the University’s UAS programme a new home on base for research, training and education. A signing ceremony took place inside the base facility, part of which — about 5,000 square feet — will house UND’s Center for UAS Research, Education & Training.
The MQ-X, the unmanned system that will replace the US Air Force’s General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper, must be survivable, weather tolerant, modular, upgradable with plug-and-play intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) options and have flexible communications, according to Col. James Gear, director of the USAF’s UAS task force.
U.S. Navy UAS experts are asking engineers at the Northrop Grumman Corp. Aerospace Systems segment in Bethpage, N.Y., to develop common UAS ground control stations to fly the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk and the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) high-altitude, high-endurance surveillance UAS. BAMS and Global Hawk are based on the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 airframe.