New Zealand-born Daniel Wilson, a researcher at the University of Sydney’s Australian Centre for Field Robotics, has developed a method to allow UAVs to dock and recharge in mid-air, much like military jets do. He believes his team’s successful UAV docking in November last year was a world first.
Category Archives: Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
Next-Gen Gas Turbine Engine Technology for UAS
UAV Turbines, Inc. (UAVT) has announced the launch of its leading-edge gas turbine technology to the Unmanned Aircraft industry. Ranging in power from 30 hp to 150 hp, UAVT’s engines are designed specifically to address Group 3 and above UAV programs. Continue reading
Hybrid Power Extends Flight Time
Top Flight, a startup out of Malden, Mass., says it has the answer to the range problem that restricts small UAS flight time in the form of hybrid propulsion. The company’s drones in development carry gasoline-powered generators that charge their onboard batteries in flight. Continue reading
Boeing Tests Fuel Cell Technology on UAVs
Powering an aircraft could soon be a sustainable endeavour Continue reading
Belarusia to Produce Electric Motors for UAVs
Belarusian scientists are planning to launch the manufacture of electric engines for compact unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in 2015, Yuri Yatsyna, head of the R&D center BAK and Technologies of the Physics Technology Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, said at the press conference “Innovative technologies: unmanned aircraft complexes” on 10 February. Continue reading
NextGen ScanEagle Engine Passes FAR 33 Endurance Test
Orbital has announced that the Orbital designed and developed Insitu ScanEagle propulsion system has recently passed the United States of America, Federal Aviation Administration’s (“FAA”) Federal Aviation Regulation section 33.49 reciprocating aircraft engine endurance test (“FAR 33.49”). Continue reading
France Tests Interceptor Drones
French firm Malou Tech has developed the Interceptor MP200 in response to the need to prevent drones from flying over nuclear plants. Continue reading
Aurora Claims Endurance Record for Orion UAS
It began life as a hydrogen-fuelled, high-altitude unmanned aircraft but evolved into a diesel-powered platform designed to fly at medium altitude for five days and promising dramatically reduced operating costs compared with today’s Predator-class UAVs. Continue reading