The Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition kicked off Aug. 17 at Taipei World Trade Center, showcasing cutting-edge components and systems from more than 140 local and overseas companies at some 760 booths. Continue reading
NASA-NOAA Mission Studies Storm Intensification in Northern Hemisphere
A group of NASA and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists are teaming up this month for an airborne mission focused on studying severe storm processes and intensification. The Hand-On Project Experience (HOPE) Eastern Pacific Origins and Characteristics of Hurricanes (EPOCH) field campaign will utilize NASA’s Global Hawk autonomous aircraft to study storms in the Northern Hemisphere to learn more about how storms intensify as they brew out over the ocean. Continue reading
RADA Gets $8M US Military Counter-UAS Contract
RADA Electronic Industries Ltd. has announced it had received a strategic first order for dozens of Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radars (MHR) from the US Military. Totalling over $8 million, this order will be delivered during 2017. Continue reading
sUAS Helps Edwards Air Force Base Fire Fighters During Exercise
Members of the 812th Civil Engineer Squadron teamed with the Emerging Technologies Combined Test Force to use small unmanned aircraft systems to increase their emergency response capabilities during two aircraft crash exercises held July 31 and Aug. 3. Continue reading
Microsoft Tests Self-Flying Gliders in Rural Nevada
Microsoft is already thinking about self-flying airplanes. The tech giant tested such technology in Hawthorne, 130 miles south of Reno, last week with the help of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems. Continue reading
Grumman F7F Tigercat – Bad Kitty Tribute
The Grumman F7F Tigercat is a heavy fighter aircraft that served with the United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) from late in World War II until 1954. It was the first twin-engined fighter to be deployed by the USN. While the Tigercat was delivered too late to see combat in World War II, it saw action as a night fighter and attack aircraft during the Korean War. Continue reading
US Naval Research Lab Tests Stackable CICADA Microdrones Swarm
The U.S. Naval Research Lab has been working on its CICADA (Close-In Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft) drones since at least 2011. The tiny drones are designed to be carried aloft by other aircraft and dropped, whereupon they’ll use GPS and little fins to glide to within 15 feet of their destination. Continue reading
DARPA Elevated Sensor Mast Tested on US Navy Vessel
DARPA’s Towed Airborne Lift of Naval Systems (TALONS) research effort recently demonstrated its prototype of a low-cost, elevated sensor mast aboard a commissioned U.S. Navy vessel for the first time. The crew of USS Zephyr, a 174-foot (53-meter) Cyclone-class patrol coastal ship, evaluated the technology demonstration system over three days near Naval Station Mayport, Florida. Continue reading