an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
A diagram shows how an Amazon drone could land on a sloping surface while keeping its main frame level, thanks to telescoping landing legs. (Amazon Illustration via USPTO)
Amazon’s inventors are taking a page from Inspector Gadget’s playbook to design drones with adjustable landing legs and reconfigurable propellers. Those two design tricks are the focus of patents issued today. It’s hard to say whether they’ll become features on Amazon’s delivery drones, still in development. Continue reading
Germany’s defence ministry has decided to buy high-altitude MQ-4C Triton unmanned surveillance planes built by Northrop Grumman Corp for deliveries after 2025, according to ministry sources.
The ALPHA 800 is the evolution of the SNIPER and includes all the developments and improvements of the last year and a half of extensive work of research, development and innovation. Improvements apply to all the systems in the helicopter from the mechanics to the electronics on board or available payloads. Continue reading
Lockheed Martin announced the call for participants in its year-long Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Payload Design Challenge. Launched in partnership with Mubadala Aerospace and Engineering Services, the program will challenge teams from across UAE universities to design, develop, and integrate payloads onto a Lockheed Martin INDAGO, an UAS with leading endurance, payload options and advanced ground control software. Continue reading
The Volanti from Sydney-based Carbonix is a carbon composite drone with a 2.7-m (9-ft) wingspan that uses a multirotor system for VTOL, then transitions to horizontal flight as a push-prop fixed-wing once in the air. It flies for over two hours on electric power or seven with a gas pusher, and Carbonix hopes it will fill the industrial-grade niche in between hobby and military UAV gear.
The U.S. military is deploying a new Gray Eagle attack drone system in South Korea as it moves to bolster capabilities against a growing threat from the North.
The head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has said that the government will introduce new rules to regulate China’s drone industry as unregulated flights have been causing problems. Continue reading
This database is comprised of a country directory with summaries of national drone laws. The objective is to provide humanitarian and non-humanitarian actors with a database of relevant national regulations, additional resources, and links to original regulatory documents to ensure that drones are deployed safely and in compliance with national regulations. Continue reading