Here’s a portion of the chapter “How to Catch a Drone”, from the book ‘How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems’ by Randall Munroe, in which Serena Williams helped test whether tennis serves could be an effective countermeasure against flying robots … by taking a drone out onto a court and hitting tennis balls at it until it crashed. Continue reading
Soviet TU-144 Concordski Crash at Paris Airshow 1973
The aggressive take-off profile of the Soviet TU-144 supersonic passenger airplane (right) vs. the French-British Concorde (left). Continue reading
Yemeni Forces Down MQ-9 in Dhamar
A U.S. military MQ-9 drone was shot down in Yemen’s Dhamar governate, southeast of the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday, the second such incident in recent months.
Kansas Approved for First BVLOS Drone Flight
The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) received permission to conduct the first ever Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operation in the nation leveraging only onboard detect-and-avoid systems. This is the first-ever FAA authorized operation to fly without a requirement for visual observers or ground-based radar and is the result of the 31-member Kansas Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP) team efforts to advance drone technologies. Continue reading
US Army Discovery Offers New Energy Source
Army researcher Anthony J. Roberts inflates a balloon with hydrogen produced from a chemical reaction between water and an aluminum nanomaterial powder discovered at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
US Army scientists and engineers recently made a groundbreaking discovery — an aluminum nanomaterial of their design produces high amounts of energy when it comes in contact with water, or with any liquid containing water. Continue reading
Maui Electric to Use Drones for Power Line Inspections
Maui Electric Company will be using unmanned aircraft, or drones, and a helicopter for routine aerial power line inspections from Monday, Aug. 26 to Friday, Aug. 30, throughout the island of Maui. The inspections are weather permitting. Continue reading
Portuguese Army Requires Small UAS
Portuguese Army has already several RQ-11B Raven DDL
The Portuguese Army is looking to acquire additional NATO Class 1 (under 150 kg) hand-launched unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to enhance tactical situational awareness of its troops. Continue reading
AirMap Demonstrates Dynamic Flight Plan Modification Capabilities During European U-space Trials
On August 13, 2019, AirMap and SESAR JU GOF USPACE partners completed a successful demonstration of the ability to dynamically modify a drone flight plan in-flight within a UTM system during an exercise simulating a marine search and rescue operation. Continue reading