an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
Aviation and its infrastructure will need to adapt in the face of new emerging concepts and applications. A wide range of factors will influence the introduction of new concepts and technologies aimed at enhancing existing communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) domains, which can no longer be considered as independent silos. Continue reading
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) concluded performance testing of the arresting hook Hold Down Damper (HDD) for its proposed MQ-25 unmanned aerial refuelling aircraft for the U.S. Navy. GA-ASI worked in collaboration with a team from GKN Aerospace’s Fokker business unit in Helmond, Netherlands. Fokker is slated to supply the arresting hook for the GA-ASI bid. Continue reading
Royal College of Art graduate Marcus Kung has designed a drone that can fly without propellers, with the aim of reducing injuries. The Impeller Drone — Kung’s graduate project as part of the RCA‘s masters programme in Design Products — flies using four air blowers, instead of exposed rotor blades like most drones. Continue reading
Leonardo continues to invest heavily in unmanned helicopter technology, offering the Solo and Hero platforms. No customer has yet bought them, but the Italian and British defense ministries have provided funding for flight trials, and now the company is leading a major research contract on unmanned maritime surveillance for the European Defence Agency (EDA). Continue reading
The Future Flight Consortium – led by Garuda Robotics and comprising Singapore Civil Defence Force, Parkway Pantai, Security Industry Institute, Singtel, Arete-M, AirMap, Gemalto, Flare Dynamics, Volans-i, Skyfront, University of Glasgow (Singapore), and Acorn International Network – has been selected by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Ministry of Transport to develop a connected urban airspace management system for unmanned aircraft in Singapore. Continue reading
Switzerland-based Drone Harmony released an automated capture app last week which aims to facilitate cell phone tower inspections by making the process safer and cheaper. The company says the app allows users to set up and complete inspection flights in around five to 10 minutes, in addition to cutting costs by as much as 50 percent. Continue reading
Persistent Systems, LLC announced that it has entered into a five-year partnership with MartinUAV, LLC. MartinUAV will incorporate Persistent’s Wave Relay Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) technology into the V-BAT, a small vertical takeoff-and-land (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Continue reading
An experimental aircraft designed to demonstrate a radical new concept in modern air warfare will enter flight testing this autumn, says Major Gen William Cooley, commander of the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) The XQ-58A Valkyrie, built by target drone maker Kratos, embodies one approach to the AFRL’s concept of a “Loyal Wingman”, a low-cost, unmanned aircraft that could expand the combat capacity of a dwindling fleet of manned fighters and bombers without busting the service’s budget. Continue reading