In the past 12 months (ending April 2016), drone sales in the USA have grown 224 percent year-over-year to nearly $200 million, according to The NPD Group’s Retail Tracking Service. Over the past six months (ending April 2016), sales growth has accelerated to more than four times higher than the same time period last year*. The following brands are leading the industry in drone sales according to percent of U.S. dollar share: DJI, Parrot, Protocol, Yuneec and 3D Robotics (12 months ending April 2016). Continue reading
Flight Tests of Scale Model of Russian Tilt-Rotor UAS
A scale model of the Frigate, Russia’s up and coming multi-purpose tilt-rotor drone, is undergoing preliminary testing. Frigate is designed as a multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle capable of performing both surveillance and search-and-rescue missions, as well as cargo transportation duties. Continue reading
Airbus Cargo Drone Challenge Gets 423 Entries
The submission period for the Airbus Cargo Drone Challenge closed on Sunday and ended up being Local Motors’ most successful co-creation endeavour in company history. The challenge received over 100 entries in the final 48 hours of the submission period to reach a total of 423. Continue reading
Simultaneous Flights of Civil UAS & Manned Aircraft at Spanish Airport
The European ARIADNA consortium led by Indra and integrated by CRIDA, ENAIRE and Fada-Catec has completed the first simultaneous flight tests in a conventional airport of a drone or remotely piloted aircraft (RPAS/UAS) in the presence of a manned aircraft.
Neuron Programme Extended to Maritime Testing
France’s DGA defence procurement agency has begun new testing of the Neuron unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator in a maritime environment. The testing will be extended to include involvement of the French navy’s aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. Continue reading
Nevada Program Tests UAS to Detect Radiation
If there’s ever a radiological catastrophe in the U.S. like the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, the stewards of the former national nuclear weapons proving ground in Nevada expect to be ready to deploy remote-controlled drones to check for contamination. Continue reading
BVLOS UAS Energy Industry Flight Tests in Virginia
American Aerospace Technologies, Inc. (AATI) announced that it has successfully completed flight tests for the energy industry utilizing Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) from the Farmville Regional Airport in Farmville, VA. The campaign just completed was the first in Virginia where flights originated at an operating airport, and the first with an end-to-end system that delivered critical data to end users in near real-time. Flights with AATI’s RS-20 UAS were conducted May 10-13.
US Terrorism Combat Office Evaluating Tethered UAS
AeroVironment, Inc. announced at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference that the United States Combatting Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) is evaluating the company’s new tethered unmanned aircraft system, named Tether Eye™, for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and security applications. The CTTSO funded the development program under a US government contract. Continue reading