General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has announced the successful airborne demonstration of a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) on a GA-ASI Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper Block 5 aircraft. The company-owned Predator B operated from GA-ASI’s Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility near Palmdale, California, against various ground-based radars. Continue reading
Category Archives: Electronic Sub-Systems
uAvionix Releases Remote Identification White Paper
Only two days after our previous article on Remote Identification (RID) predicting it was the “next big hurdle for drone regulations”, AUVSI released a “Call for Papers” on the subject. Naturally, we felt we had some thoughts to contribute. Continue reading
uAvionix Partners and Robotic Skies Partner for Global Installation and Maintenance Services
uAvionix Corporation, announced that it has chosen Robotic Skies as an installation and field maintenance partner for its line of avionics products designed for commercial drone aircraft. As part of the agreement, Robotic Skies will provide sales, installations, and ongoing field support for uAvionix customers through its global network of aircraft service centers. Continue reading
Remote Identification – The Next Big Hurdle for Drone Regulations
“Who is that, and are they allowed to be here?”
We’ve hit a snag in the progression of new drone regulations, and it’s not related to the current political environment regarding curbing new regulations. There is a big technical hurdle to overcome before the industry can move on – and there is a legislative deadline of July 2017 to solve it. Continue reading
VStar’s Successful Flight Test of MA-C Signal Intelligence Sensor
VStar Systems Inc., a privately held aerospace and defence systems company, announced the successful flight test of its modular Signal Intelligence Sensor, MA-C/lite, aboard the Martin UAV V-Bat aircraft. Over the duration of 35 minutes at an altitude of 400 feet above ground level, MA-C/lite collected signals from as far as 20 miles distance. Continue reading
First Flight Tests of the MS-177 Multi-Spectral Sensor on RQ-4 Global Hawk
Northrop Grumman Corporation has begun flight testing of the MS-177 sensor payload with a successful inaugural flight on an RQ-4 Global Hawk high altitude long endurance autonomous aircraft system.
Performance Based Navigation for Drones
When I worked directly with the FAA as a customer, one thing I learned the hard way is that seemingly common sounding words or phrases have very specific (and sometimes loaded) meaning when spoken within the context of the FAA or aviation. I have a feeling that Performance Based Navigation (PBN) is probably one of those loaded terms – so at my own peril I will venture forward to describe in my own layman thinking what I mean when I say there is something to learn here that we can bring into the unmanned aviation world. Continue reading
Leonardo to Supply Radar for French Army Patroller
Leonardo has been selected, after an international competition, by Safran Electronics & Defense to provide the PicoSAR AESA (E-Scan) radar for its Patroller UAV. The radars will be used by the French Forces, which selected the Patroller in April 2016. Continue reading