Category Archives: News

Solar-Powered Drones Help Pojoaque Pueblo Monitor Vast Land Holdings

Wildflower International employees pose with their Silent Falcon drone at their office in Santa Fe. From left, Karen Sandoval, Laura Salazar, Michael Wahl, Rob Scism, all flight crew members, and Jenna deCastro the outside account executive for DOE.

Under a new partnership with Santa Fe-based Wildflower International, unmanned aerial systems made by Albuquerque-based Silent Falcon UAS Technologies will assist the Pojoaque Pueblo in managing its roaming herd of wild bison, map cultural sites on Pojoaque land, and improve fire control and search-and-rescue efforts. Continue reading →

UAV-Based Thermal-Imaging Protocol to Find Toylike “Butterfly” Land Mines

A type of land mine called the “butterfly” has a particularly insidious reputation for two reasons: It is known for killing or crippling children who may pick up what looks a lot like a green plastic toy, and its mostly nonmetallic construction means it often evades traditional mine detectors. Butterfly mines’ light-touch detonators go off easily if stepped on by a fighter—or farmer—and their relatively small charge often maims people without immediately killing them. Continue reading →

University of North Dakota Tests Multi-User, BVLoS Broad-Purpose Network for Commercial Drone Activity

The University of North Dakota, along with research partners from Harris Corporation and the Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site (NPUASTS), achieved a major industry milestone on Friday, Dec. 21, with the first-ever test flights over a specially developed UAS network of technologies that opens the skies for broad commercial use of drones. Continue reading →

China Plans Heavy Fuel Engine for CH-4 UAV Family

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is developing a new variant of its Cai Hong 4 (Rainbow 4, or CH-4) armed reconnaissance medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (MALE UAV), which will feature an indigenously manufactured heavy fuel engine (HFE), company sources confirmed with Jane’s on 21 December. Continue reading →