Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are among the superstars who’ve been booked for Rock in Rio 2017, one of the world’s largest annual rock music events. And this year, in addition to the class acts on stage, the entertainment lineup also includes a Rock in Rio premiere: a drone show in a class of its own. Continue reading
USAF Details Role of Predator and Reaper in Syria
The US Air Force (USAF) has revealed details of the roles undertaken by the service’s General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GAASI) MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in liberating the Syrian city of Manbij from the Islamic State. Continue reading
3D Printing Improves Battery Life of Crop Dusting UAV
Italian drone company Soleon has been using 3D printing to reduce the weight of drone components, improving the efficiency of its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). One of its latest products, SoleonAgro, is an agricultural pest control drone with a laser sintered polyamide body. Continue reading
Global Hawks to Deploy to Japan
The U.S. Air Force plans to deploy five RQ-4 Global Hawks and approximately 105 personnel, currently based at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to Yokota Air Base, Japan, from May to October 2017. Continue reading
Predator B Demonstrates Threat Radar Detection
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has announced the successful airborne demonstration of a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) on a GA-ASI Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper Block 5 aircraft. The company-owned Predator B operated from GA-ASI’s Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility near Palmdale, California, against various ground-based radars. Continue reading
US Air Force, Lockheed Martin Demonstrate Manned/Unmanned Teaming
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and Calspan Corporation successfully demonstrated manned/unmanned teaming to improve combat efficiency and effectiveness for the warfighter. Continue reading
NLR Leads European Defence Project for Integration of Drones into Civil Airspace
The Netherlands Aerospace Centre, NLR, recently started working on the European TRAWA project, intended to develop standards for so-called ‘detect and avoid’ (DAA) systems on board drones. Continue reading
LightningStrike XV-24A Demonstrator Successfully Completes Subscale Flight Test Program
Aurora’s XV-24A LightningStrike Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) XPlane subscale vehicle demonstrator (SVD) aircraft completed its planned flight test program in early March at Webster Outlying Field in Southern Maryland. Continue reading



