Beware of Low-Flying Agricultural Aircraft this Season

The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) is asking all Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operators to be aware of agricultural aircraft operations this growing season. As UAS operators know, UAS are not allowed above 400 feet without a waiver from the FAA. However, UAS operators should also know agricultural aviators fly as low as 10 feet off the ground when making an application, meaning they share this low-altitude airspace with UAS. Continue reading →

DARPA Announces Fourth Swarm Sprint

DARPA is soliciting creative proposals for the fourth swarm sprint in its OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET)program. OFFSET envisions swarms of 250 collaborative autonomous systems providing critical capabilities to ground units in urban areas where challenges such as tall buildings, tight spaces, and limited sight lines constrain essential communications, sensing, maneuverability, and autonomous operations. Continue reading →

Collins Aerospace Unveils $50M Electric Power Systems Lab

Collins Aerospace Systems executives revealed plans for The Grid—the industry’s most advanced electric power systems lab. Collins Aerospace will use the high-power, high-voltage lab to design and test systems like high-power generators for the next generation of more electric aircraft, including commercial, military, business aviation, UAV and urban air mobility platforms. Collins Aerospace is a unit of United Technologies Corp. Continue reading →

€ 250M Drone Order for Piaggio Aerospace On Hold

Italian Defense Minister Elisabetta Trenta announced last week that she has decided to postpone the planned € 250 million purchase of eight P.1HH drones produced by Piaggio Aerospace, Italy’s only manufacturer of large drones. Part of the funding, around 70 million euro, was due to finalizing the development and certification process of the programme.

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EMSA Hermes 900 Test Flights Over Iceland

A remotely piloted, unmanned drone aircraft will be flight-tested in Egilsstaðir, East Iceland over the coming months. RÚV reports that the 15-metre (49-ft) wide craft that is under the joint oversight of the Icelandic Coast Guard and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) will be landing and taking off from the town’s airport while tests are ongoing. Continue reading →

Second DroneClash Helps Shape Anti-Drone Tactics

Flamethrowers were used to try to bring down drones during the second DroneClash event in the Netherlands

DroneClash  held its second annual event last month. Produced by the Technical University Delft’s Mavlab in the Netherlands, nine teams from around the world competed against each other in capture-the-Queen style battles. Continue reading →