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The FAA’s Aviation Rulemaking Committee on Micro UAS is recommending standards that could clear the way for commercial drone flights over populated areas and help speed the introduction of package delivery drones and other uses not yet possible. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the recommendations, which were sent to the FAA late last week. The agency is not bound by the recommendations and can make changes when it writes final rules. Continue reading
Sagem has been contracted to supply its Patroller system to the French army as the service’s new tactical unmanned air vehicle, some two months after Paris confirmed its selection of the type. Continue reading
An Israeli-made unmanned air vehicle operated by Azerbaijan was shot down in early April over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the South Caucasus. Continue reading
State Farm, the first insurer to win approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to use drones commercially, has launched hundreds of experimental drone flights for routine roof inspections. If the technology works out, the company could eventually use drones to give them a bird’s eye view of catastrophes. Continue reading
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Unmanned aircraft airspace information provider AirMap and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) released a notification system to make airport operators aware of nearby drone flights. The Digital Notice and Awareness System (D-NAS) is a quasi flight planning and notam system for participating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operators and airports, allowing UAS operators to send encrypted digital flight notices to the airport’s operations center.
3W International is participating in this year’s Xponential, formerly AUVSI, where it will introduce an expanded range of engines. Besides the previously exhibited Heavy Fuel (HF) engines, the German engine manufacturer will also exhibit a portion of its petrol engines as well as a complete engine unit.
At the conclusion of last week’s defense exhibition Defexpo 2016 in Goa, India last week, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) announced that it has finalized new sales worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), air defense and radar systems, among others.
DJI has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Yuneec International, alleging that Yuneec copied “key achievements” of its research and development efforts. The lawsuit seeks to stop Yuneec from selling its products with disputed features just as the U.S. market for commercial small unmanned aircraft systems is poised to expand. Continue reading