Aware of the growing threat of bomb-laden mini drones that recently emerged in Iraq and Syria, the US Army is rushing to field countermeasures and kinetic effects designed specifically to defeat drones. Continue reading
Intel-Funded Yuneec Lays Off US Staff
Consumer drone manufacturer Yuneec International confirmed on Friday that it would lay off an undisclosed number of employees in its Americas division. Continue reading
Astral Aerial Wins IATA Innovation Award for ‘UTM Concept for Africa’
As IATA wrapped up its 11th World Cargo Symposium in Abu Dhabi on Friday, it announced that conference participants chose Astral Aerial Solutions as the winner of its 2017 Air Cargo Innovation award, amongst five finalists that had been narrowed down by a panel of judges. Continue reading
First BVLoS Power Line Inspection Flight in New Zealand
A Taranaki drone company has made history by flying an unmanned aircraft “beyond line of sight” to inspect power transmission lines in the Rimutaka Ranges. Continue reading
Eurocontrol’s RPAS Workshop Adresses Current ATM Operational Integration Issues
On Thursday 6 and Friday 7 April 2017, EUROCONTROL is hosting a RPAS workshop aiming to create a common picture of the current European integration status of RPAS operations below 500 ft. Present operations are mostly VLOS and several States have started BVLOS operations under certain conditions. Continue reading
John Deere and Kespry Forge Global Alliance
John Deere and Kespry have announced an exclusive global strategic alliance through which John Deere Construction & Forestry dealers will provide the Kespry Aerial Intelligence System to their customers on job sites around the world. Starting in North America, the alliance enables John Deere customers to use Kespry’s fully integrated industrial drone platform to capture topographic data in minutes with survey-grade accuracy. Continue reading
USAF to Convert Block 5 Reapers to ER Configuration
The US Air Force (USAF) intends to award General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) a contract to upgrade a number of its MQ-9 Reaper Block 5 unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) to the extended range (ER) configuration. Continue reading
US Army Demos Laser Weapon on Combat Vehicle
U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command team members are laser focused on the future of high energy lasers. Continue reading