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The US Air Force recently selected the first 10 enlisted Airmen to attend RQ-4 Global Hawk pilot training, marking the first time since World War II enlisted Airmen will be behind the stick. The first combined enlisted and officer training course will begin October 2016, with the first enlisted Airmen expected to graduate in 2017. Continue reading
The FAA has given the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) a new and potentially time-consuming task: vetting commercial sUAS pilots who do not already have a certificate to operate manned flights. The proliferation of new applications underscores the importance of having an adequately staffed and funded TSA so integration of commercial sUAS is not delayed.
UTC Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. has been awarded a contract to support the integration and testing of the MS-177 multi-spectral imaging (MSI) and long-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) sensor onto the Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).
The Republican National Convention in Cleveland next week promises to be buzzing with activity, both inside and outside Quicken Loans Arena. There’s one thing that shouldn’t be buzzing around, however – drones. Continue reading
Work on an unmanned rotor-wing technology demonstrator is set to get underway following the signing of a deal between Leonardo-Finmeccanica’s Helicopter Division and the British Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Carey Smith, President, Defense and Space, Honeywell Aerospace; Joseph Weiss, President and CEO, Israel Aerospace Industries
Honeywell is partnering with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to jointly develop a sense-and-avoid capability for IAI’s Heron family of unmanned aerial systems (UASs). Selected for funding from the Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation, the system will be demonstrated for the first time on the Heron medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAS platform in 2018. The team was selected following a competitive review process that evaluated projects from many companies.
Rockwell Collins, in collaboration with The University of Iowa’s Operator Performance Lab (OPL), successfully controlled an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) using its end-to-end UAS integrated avionics solution. The test flight was a key milestone toward the successful operation of UAS beyond an operator’s visual line of sight in the National Airspace System (NAS).
ABS Group, a provider of technical inspection and verification services to the global power and wind energy industries, has signed an agreement with DroneView Technologies to deliver joint aerial wind turbine and equipment inspections utilizing sophisticated drone technology as a cost-effective solution.