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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
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
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
Photo: US Air Force
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
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
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
Laserpas, an international Remotely Piloted Airborne System (RPAS) operator, has announced the completion of its first project in Romania. The company’s unmanned system was used to survey 308 kilometers of power lines. The project team discovered 50 kilometers of undocumented lines and other inaccuracies in data, as well as various security threats. Continue reading
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is using its existing authority under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) § 99.7 – “Special Security Instructions” – to address national security concerns about unauthorized drone operations over 133 military facilities. Continue reading