A lack of regulation has been blamed for a drone hitting a British Airways passenger jet, as it emerged that police have failed to investigate 40 near-misses in the past year. Calls for action to mitigate the threat to passenger aircraft from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) came from Europe’s main regional airline trade group and others following an April 17 incident at London Heathrow Airport.
UK Navy uses Drones to Find Safe Route Through Antarctic Ice
HMS Protector has been trialling small drones to help her negotiate the Antarctic ice for the first time. The survey ship, which has just completed her third stint around the frozen continent this austral summer, has launched both a tiny quadcopter and a 3D-printed aircraft equipped with cameras.
Turkish Procurement Office Seeks UAS Domestic Sub-Systems
Turkey’s procurement agency has launched a competition promoting domestic development of key sub-systems used in drones. Continue reading
US Fighter Pilots Could Get Drone Wingmen
The U.S. Air Force is developing new computer algorithms to allow fighter pilots to control armed drones from inside their own cockpits. The goal of the so-called “Loyal Wingman” initiative is to pair up manned, fifth-generation stealth fighters with unmanned versions of older jets — in order to boost the lethality of both in air combat. Continue reading
Australian Navy to Choose Firescout or Skeldar
The Australian Navy put the word out a request for tender for a rotary wing UAS with a strong focus on ISR. Whilst the tender closed on April 11, it’s still worth looking at who’s in the mix.
Camcopter in Canadian Ice-Breaking Operations
At the end of March 2016 at Fogo Island in Canada, Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) successfully demonstrated its capabilities to a host of dignitaries from the Canadian Coast Guard, the Royal Canadian Navy, Transport Canada, the Canadian National Research Council and the University of Alaska in partnership with the Memorial University of Newfoundland.
BA Airbus Hit by Drone at Heathrow Airport
A police investigation is under way after a passenger plane approaching Heathrow Airport was hit by what is believed to have been a drone. The British Airways flight from Geneva, with 132 passengers and five crew on board, was hit as it approached the London airport at 12:50 BST on Sunday. Continue reading
UAS for Aircraft Crash Analysis in UK
Drawing upon its work integrating unmanned air vehicle use into the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch’s (AAIB) wreckage assessments, Cranfield University is in discussions with international bodies exploring the use of the technology for post-crash analysis. Continue reading