NASA‘s office of inspector general has called on the agency to improve the implementation of policy on unmanned aircraft systems acquisition and management. Continue reading
South Africa to Cut Remote Pilot Operator Approval Time
The senior official at the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) in charge of issuing Remote Pilot Operators Certificates says that the long waiting periods for permission to run commercial unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations will soon be over. Continue reading
China’s Tengoen Unveils Armed UAVs
Tengoen 10 m-long TB001
Chinese company Tengoen unveiled a series of armed reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at the 14th China–ASEAN Expo in Nanning from 12 to 15 September, including two fixed-wing and two vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAVs. Continue reading
Drone Hits Army Black Hawk over Staten Island
Army Black Hawk helicopter damaged by a drone over Staten Island.
An Army Black Hawk helicopter was struck by a drone at approximately 500 feet over a residential neighborhood on Staten Island. The helicopter, based out of Fort Bragg, N.C., was in New York City for the United Nations patrol. Continue reading
Israel Grounds Skylark Fleet After Two New Crashes
An IDF soldier from the Artillery Corps launches an Elbit Skylark drone, known in the IDF as a Sky Rider, on January 21, 2013. (Cpl. Zev Marmorstein/Israel Defense Forces)
Two small IDF drones crashed in the West Bank on Monday, the latest Israeli unmanned aircraft to go down in recent months, for as yet unclear reasons, the army said. Continue reading
Federal Judge Strikes Down City Drone Ordinance on Preemption Grounds
A federal judge struck down a Newton, Massachusetts, ordinance regulating drone operations in the city, holding that the ordinance was preempted based on Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) regulations and federal statutes. Saying the ordinance “essentially constitutes a wholesale ban on drone use” and was an “interven[tion] in the FAA’s careful regulation of aircraft safety,” District Judge William G. Young reaffirmed the FAA’s broad jurisdiction over drones (also known as unmanned aircraft systems or “UAS”) in national airspace. Continue reading
Now Australian Military Also Bans DJI Products
Australia’s Department of Defence has established “revised operating procedures” for small unmanned aircraft, an action that follows a U.S. Army directive to its units in August to stop using drones manufactured by China’s DJI because of “cyber vulnerabilities.” Continue reading
The Drone World Expo 2017 Interviews – Gretchen West
In the last of a series of interviews with key figures involved in the success of Drone World Expo, we talked to Gretchen West, Drone World Expo Advisory Board Chair; Senior Advisor, Hogan Lovells; Co-Executive Director, Commercial Drone Alliance.
Prior to joining Hogan Lovells, for over a decade, Gretchen served as AUVSI’s Executive Vice President, overseeing AUVSI’s global business development initiatives, international growth strategy, government relations and advocacy efforts for the unmanned systems and robotics industry.