Harmonising UAS Regulations and Standards

Interview with Peter van Blyenburgh, President of UVS International

Many people dream of making a living out of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), but so far a lack of clear rules and regulations has stood in the way of that dream. However, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon – especially in Europe – and best practices will spread across the world like an ink blot, according to Peter van Blyenburgh, president of UVS International.

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DARPA Seeks Swarm Capabilities for Small Urban Ground Units

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Urban canyons—with their high vertical structures, tight spaces, and limited lines of sight—constrain military communications, mobility, and tactics in the best of times. These challenges become even more daunting when U.S. forces are in areas they do not control—where they can’t rely on supply chains, infrastructure, and previous knowledge of local conditions and potential threats. Continue reading →

Neva Releases OEM Electric Turbo-Fans Optimised for VTOL and STOL Commercial UAS

Neva Athena ETF

The pan-European Neva Aerospace consortium, which is developing heavy-duty drones, industrial and commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and vehicles (UAV) based on its patented distributed thrust concept, has released the first OEM electric turbofan (ETF) to the aerospace market. These ETFs are claimed to be between two and four times as efficient as existing, standard electric ducted fans (EDFs). Continue reading →

Directed Energy Could Protect American Troops


The US Army is justifiably proud of the capability of its unmanned aircraft systems. They give war fighters an invaluable pair of far-seeing eyes.  The problem is, the bad guys have their own unmanned systems, their own drones. Troops need protection from those eyes.  “You could lock on the target. It’s a dime sized (beam)  at a mile, and you can shoot down this quad-copter in 11-seconds,” said Boeing’s John Matlock. Continue reading →