In January a small group of U.S. Marines at a remote base near the village of Shurakay in northern Helmand province was running low on ammunition after fighting fiercely for days. The road in was too dangerous for a resupply convoy, and there were so many Taliban fighters that a helicopter crew trying to fly in would have been at serious risk. Continue reading
Category Archives: VTOL
New OctoCopter from Tescorp in Colombia
Tecscorp Industries will soon unveil its new VTOL “Chronos” unmanned aircraft system, as part of an effort to develop covert equipment for use by special forces personnel and for agricultural, industrial applications. Continue reading
US Marines Consider Future of Unmanned Cargo Helicopter
While US Marines have heaped praise on the K-MAX unmanned cargo system, its future as a potential programme of record remains uncertain. Continue reading
US Navy’s First Squadron of Manned & Unmanned Aircraft
The Navy’s Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 35 last week became the first composite expeditionary helicopter squadron to include both manned and unmanned aircraft. HSM-35 will operate both the manned, multi-mission MH-60R Seahawk and the MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft. Continue reading
First Authorised RPAS Flight in an Urban Environment in Italy
The recent technological development of mini RPAS has opened large new opportunities for both surveyors and other Geomatic professionals in the fields of photogrammetry and remote sensing. Continue reading
US Army Moves Ahead on Manned-Unmanned Teaming
The US Army is taking a multi-pronged approach to upgrading its rotary-wing and unmanned aircraft fleets, investing in technologies that will not only allow helicopter pilots to monitor feeds from UAS, but also operate the sensors and weapon systems from safe distances. Continue reading
Northrop Grumman Markets MQ-8C as ‘Rotary Wing UAS of the Future’
A full scale mock-up of Northrop Grumman’s MQ-8C, the unmanned platform that is to succeed the MQ-8B, was on show earlier this month at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space exposition at National Harbor, Md. Continue reading
Eurocopter’s Successful OPV Flights
Eurocopter’s ability to integrate unmanned flight capabilities into its helicopter family has been validated by an optionally piloted vehicle (OPV) demonstration programme, which used an EC145 to fly routes that included deployment of an external sling load and a representative observation mission. Continue reading