an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
The Property Drone Consortium (PDC), a collaboration that consists of insurance carriers, construction industry leaders and supporting enterprises announced its roster of charter members that includes: Allstate Corporation, American Family Insurance, Auto-Owners Insurance, EagleView Technologies, Inc., Erie Insurance and Pilot Catastrophe Services. Continue reading
Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 (VMU-1) conducts its first launch of an RQ-7Bv2 “Shadow” unmanned aircraft system at the Canon Air Defense Complex aboard Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, Saturday, March 26, 2016. Continue reading
USS Hartford (SSN-768) surfaces near Ice Camp Sargo during ICEX 2016 in the Arctic Circle. Continue reading
The US Air Force unit charged with guarding a nuclear arsenal is searching for mini-drones designed to electronically dogfight other mini-drones. Continue reading
German-based robotics company Festo unveiled a new flying robot that looks like a giant, blown-up representation of Saturn with its balloon like shape and ring of propellers. The drone can detect objects and fly autonomously, but the most interesting part about it is how it grabs items – it pretty much swallows them whole and then pushes them back out. Continue reading
In an era of declining budgets and adversaries’ evolving capabilities, quick, affordable and routine access to space is increasingly critical for both national and economic security. Current satellite launch systems, however, require scheduling years in advance for an extremely limited inventory of available slots. Moreover, launches often cost hundreds of millions of dollars each, due in large part to the massive amounts of dedicated infrastructure and large number of personnel required. DARPA created its Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program to help overcome these challenges and create a new paradigm for more routine, responsive and affordable space operations, reducing the time to get capabilities to space.
AOPA and nine other aviation groups signed a letter opposing a proposed amendment to the U.S. Senate’s FAA Reauthorization Act that would do away with federal preemption in the integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System. Continue reading
Unlike most quadcopters, the Aqua-Quad doesn’t take off from solid ground. Dr. Kevin Jones and his team from the Naval Postgraduate School developed it to fly straight up from the ocean or any body of water. And it can land back on water after it has fulfilled its mission, staying on or under the surface until it’s deployed again. Continue reading