In partnership with NASA, the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works team is solving one of the most persistent challenges of supersonic flight – the sonic boom. NASA awarded Lockheed Martin Skunk Works a contract in February 2016 for the preliminary design of the supersonic X-plane, designed to reduce a sonic boom to a gentle thump. Continue reading
Italy to Order 20 Piaggio Hammerhead UAS
P.1HH
Italy’s Ministry of Defence last month sent an acquisition request to Parliament’s defense commission for 20 Piaggio Aerospace P.2HH drones, costing a total of €766 million (U.S. $951 million). Continue reading
Drone Delivery Canada Develops The Condor – 400Lbs Cargo Delivery Drone
Drone Delivery Canada announced that it has commenced development of its newest cargo delivery drone, ‘The Condor’ with a lifting capability estimated at 400 pounds of payload. Continue reading
Air New Zealand Plane in Near Miss at Auckland Airport
Air New Zealand last week that a drone came within meters of a flight descending into Auckland Airport from Tokyo, putting the safety of 278 passengers and crew at risk. Continue reading
China Approves Drone-Based Package Delivery
SF Express, China’s biggest logistics firm, announced that subsidiary Fengyu Shuntu Technology received the first official permit in China to deliver packages via unmanned aerial vehicles, following a series of tests that began last June (link in Chinese). Continue reading
UK Protector Receives Additional $80M Funding
The United Kingdom’s General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) Protector unmanned aircraft system has received a further injection of design, development, and integration funding. Continue reading
China Deploys Soar Dragon to Yishuntun Airbase
New satellite imagery acquired on 04FEB2018 by DigitalGlobe shows that China has deployed the Guizhou Aviation Industry Group (GAIG) Xianglong (Soar Dragon) high altitude long endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to Yishuntun airbase in Jilin province. Continue reading
Mishap at Pendleton UAS Range Starts Fire
A “mishap” at the Pendleton UAS Range caused a small fire at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport Saturday morning, although it caused no injuries and damaged no property, Range Manager Darryl Abling said. Continue reading