A NATO Members User Group for the GA-ASI MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is being established. According to Frank Pace, President of GA-ASI, it will provide a forum for new European Reaper operators to understand U.S. tactics, techniques and procedures, and to arrange mutually beneficial support solutions. The UK and France already operate Reapers, and the Netherlands will buy four, according to Pace. Germany remains a potential customer, he added, although it might wait for the certifiable Predator B. This version of the Reaper is on schedule to fly in late 2016, Pace added. Continue reading
Category Archives: News
Unmanned Aerial Spy Photography from 1907
In 1914, early on in the new Great War, one German inventor thought his way of taking photographs from the sky would be able to help the small number of airplanes available for the job. Back in 1907 Julius Neubronner had invented a small, automatic camera that could be strapped to a homing pigeon (these birds were already widely used by armies for carrying messages).
Whistleblower Accuses Northrop Grumman of Fudging GPS Systems Testing
An employee of Northrop Grumman has accused the company of faking tests on its LN-100 Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System (INS/GPS). The GPS unit is installed on “various aircraft, including helicopters and unmanned drones (including the Predator), missiles, submarines, and other vehicles,” the lawsuit said. The LN-100 provides essential positioning data to the sensitive systems. Continue reading
NMSU Tests Unmanned Aircraft Over Active Mine
New Mexico State University’s Physical Science Laboratory Unmanned Aircraft Flight Test Center acquired a Certificate of Authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration to perform aeronautical research on an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) over an active open pit mine in central Colorado. Continue reading
Fashion Drone at India Fashion Week
In addition to the eclectic runway displays, the opening day of the 24th edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2015also witnessed the debut of Wills Fashion Drone, a small flying body fitted with GoPro cameras which will fly over the venue till October 12, 2014 and will capture the best moments of the fashion week.
Aurora Gets DARPA Contract for UAS Recovery System
Aurora Flight Sciences announced that it has been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the accelerated development of its SideArm UAS launch and recovery system.
Northrop Grumman Hires X-47B Model Builder
In May, Eric Maglio traveled to a conference in Florida, showed some Northrop Grumman executives clips of the miniature X-47B unmanned aircraft he’d just built, and was offered a job on the spot. Continue reading
Tourist Jailed and Fined for Buzzing Notre Dame
An Israeli tourist was arrested in front of Notre Dame Cathedral while flying a drone above some of Paris’ top attractions. In what has become a growing problem for authorities in Paris and other tourist hotspots, the 24-year-old man spent a night behind bars and was hit with a £310 fine before he was released. Continue reading