In a video posted last week on YouTube, Air Force Lt. Col. Jimmy Jones, a program manager with the Strategic Technology Office, challenged industry with the Flying Missile Rail (FMR) concept. DARPA’s vision is an armed drone that would be carried on the missile rails of Air Force F-16s and Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18. The Flying Missile Rail would fly at 0.9 Mach (690 miles an hour) for up to 20 minutes. Continue reading
Honeywell Launches UAV Industrial Inspection Service
Honeywell has launched its first commercial unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) inspection service, the Honeywell InView inspection Service, to help industrial customers improve critical structure inspections while also helping increase employees’ safety from many of the risks associated with these often-dangerous working conditions.
GA-ASI Expands Team Reaper Australia
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has announced the expansion of its Team Reaper Australia. The team offers the only viable solution to meet the Project Air 7003 requirement and now consists of nine Australian companies providing a range of innovative sensor, communication, manufacturing and life-cycle support capabilities. Continue reading
FAA Small Drone Rule Lets Unmanned Aircraft Soar
A host of new users is changing the world of commercial aviation thanks in large part to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) small unmanned aircraft rule, Part 107 (PDF), which has now been in place for a year. Continue reading
Israel Unveils Two New Transport Drones
The Israeli Defense Ministry’s weapons development department recently unveiled nine pieces of technology, including two unmanned submarines and a hybrid gas-electric powerful tank, that are due to enter service in the IDF in the coming years. Continue reading
Intel Launches Aerial Data Analytics Platform
The newly announced Intel Insight Platform is a cloud-based data processing, analytics and reporting service that allows customers to store, share, and manage the rich data that commercial drone systems provide. Continue reading
Use of Drones in Collision Reconstruction Studied
3D model of a collision scene created with drone imagery
The N.C. Department of Transportation Division of Aviation’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, and the NCDOT Photogrammetry Unit have studied the feasibility of using drones to create 3D models of collision scenes, and the findings could signal good news for motorists. Continue reading
Rockwell B-1 Lancer Taking Off and Landing
The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force (USAF). It is commonly called the “Bone” (from “B-One”). It is one of three strategic bombers in the USAF fleet as of 2017, the other two being the B-2 Spirit “Stealth Bomber”, and the B-52 Stratofortress. Continue reading