A 20-foot-long drone that was brought to North Dakota to test precision agriculture methods is now part of a trial run to see if can help crews restore power to areas hit by natural disasters. Continue reading
US Department of the Interior Awards sUAS Contract
The U.S. Department of the Interior has awarded a contract to 3D Robotics of Berkley, California for up to 40 small, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The award follows a lengthy process to develop performance requirements and select the most useful type of aircraft. Continue reading
FAA Publishes Air Traffic Organization Policy Order
This order combines new guidance for implementing 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 101, Subpart E, Special Rule for Model Aircraft, and 14 CFR, Part 107 Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) with existing UAS guidance in J NO 7210.891 Unmanned Aircraft Operations in the National Airspace System (cancelled) and General Notice (GENOT) JO 7210.886, Model Aircraft Operations in the Vicinity of Airports (cancelled). This provides a single source document for Air Traffic Organization (ATO) personnel, in any class of airspace. Continue reading
EASA Publishes ‘Prototype’ Commission Regulation on UA Operations
At the UAS Stakeholders Meeting that took place at EASA headquarters on 20 June 2016, EASA announced that it would publish “Prototype Rules” for UAS in the very near future. Continue reading
Airbus Plans for Autonomous Aerial Taxi drones
Aerospace company Airbus has announced plans for an autonomous vehicle that is capable of taking off and flying over traffic jams “at the push of a button”. Continue reading
Northrop Grumman to Modernize RQ-4 Ground Segment
Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a contract by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center to modernize the ground segment for the U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk autonomous unmanned aircraft system. Continue reading
General Atomics Gets $9.6M Precision Tracking Award
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) of San Diego, California, is being awarded a $9,609,911, competitive, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. Under this new contract, the contractor will design, build, and test in the laboratory key laser subsystems required to demonstrate precision tracking. Continue reading
Airlander 10 Surveillance Airship Makes First Flight
Airlander 10 took off from the historic Cardington Airfield in Bedfordshire, England at approximately 19:45 on Wednesday 17th of August, after a short flight it landed at 20:00, before dark.