UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
Microdrone at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
At Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, two miles from the cow pasture where the Wright Brothers learned to fly the first airplanes, military researchers are at work on another revolution in the air: shrinking unmanned drones, the kind that fire missiles into Pakistan and spy on insurgents in Afghanistan, to the size of insects and birds.
Elektra One
At the Intersolar Europe trade show, IABG – a European technology enterprise – and ACENTISS, the aircraft engineering company of the IABG group, have concluded an exclusive cooperation agreement with PC-Aero GmbH, the German electric aircraft developer and producer.
Israeli manufacturers are ramping up development of small, unmanned aircraft powered by electric motors and, in at least one case, a hydrogen fuel cell. The UAS are for tactical use and feature advanced payloads and data links, and cover a range of altitudes.
TMD Technologies has introduced two new microwave power modules (MPMs) designed specifically for use with military data-links on UAS.
Ricardo, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Ricardo plc, has announced the formation of a strategic business alliance with XRD Inc. and NW UAV to design, develop and manufacture a family of heavy-fuel engine solutions for unmanned systems.
Systems designers at Elbit Systems of America LLC in Fort Worth, Texas, and at Lockheed Martin Corp. in Eagan, Minn., will develop a green hybrid propulsion system running on renewable energy for small UAS as part of initial phase of the U.S. Air Force Small Unmanned Renewable enerGy long Endurance Vehicle (SURGE-V) programme.
LaserMotive will be showcasing examples of its wireless power system for unmanned aircraft, including models of electric helicopters and aircraft, at the SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing Exhibition April 26-29 in Orlando, Florida.
