Aerovironment Inc., Monrovia, California, was awarded an $8,868,341 firm-fixed-price contract for providing RQ-20B Puma AE II systems and support to Estonia. Continue reading
Airware Burns Through $118M and Crashes
Drone operating system startup Airware suddenly informed employees it will cease operations immediately despite having raised $118 million from top investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Google’s GV, and Kleiner Perkins. The startup ran out of money after trying to manufacture its own hardware that couldn’t compete with drone giants like China’s DJI. The company at one point had as many as 140 employees, all of which are now out of a job. Continue reading
USAF Completes First Auto-Land Using MQ-9 BLOCK 5
On August 7, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) completed the first-ever automated landing of an MQ-9 Block 5 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), followed by the first auto-takeoff on August 9. The new Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability (ATLC) was developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to enhance mission capability. Continue reading
AeroVironment Gets $6M Raven Contract from NATO for Portuguese Army
AeroVironment, Inc. has announced the receipt of a fixed-price contract award valued at $5,962,494 from NSPA on August 20, 2018.The contract award encompasses the procurement of Raven® unmanned aircraft systems equipped with Mantis i23 sensors and pocket Remote Video Terminals (p/RVT) for the Portuguese Army, with delivery scheduled over a three-year period. Continue reading
Greek Army Sagem Sperwer Crashes Near Komotini
A Hellenic Army unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fell near Komotini, northern Greece, last Thursday morning.The SAGEM Sperwer type aircraft fell some four kilometers west of Komotini, according to local reports. Continue reading
ICAO Lawyers to Tackle Emerging Challenges
The ICAO Legal Committee
The ICAO Legal Committee, chaired by Mr. Terry Olson from France, concluded its 37th Session last week at ICAO’s Headquarters, addressing a range of challenging emerging issues for international air transport. Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, ICAO Council President and Dr. Fang Liu, ICAO Secretary General were present to open the Session. Continue reading
MQ-4C Triton Damaged in California Mishap
A MQ-4C Triton landed on its belly after a test flight last Wednesday went wrong at Naval Base Ventura County in California. The incident occurred at 2:45 pm Wednesday at Point Mugu when the aircraft from Florida-based Naval Air Station Jacksonville’s Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19 experienced an unspecified mechanical glitch during the flight.
Russian REX-1 Counter-UAV System Revealed
Images from Russia’s major ‘Vostok 2018’ exercise on 13 September appear to show a production version of the REX-1 counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) weapon in use by Russian Federation airborne troops. Continue reading