Swedish unmanned helicopter company CybAero has gained a new shareholder. Subversive Capital, a US fund, has acquired the remainder of California-based AeroVironment’s CybAero holding.
Fire Scout Makes 11 Hour Long-Range Flight
The MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter has made an 11-hour, long-range flight. During an endurance demonstration from Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, the Fire Scout flew 150 miles and 11 hours on a planned 10-hour flight, and still had an hour’s fuel in reserve, according to a Northrop Grumman announcement. Continue reading
Robotic Landing Gear for Helicopters
Helicopters are incredibly manoeuvrable in the air, but during landing and takeoff their traditional skid- and wheel-based landing gear requires stable, flat surfaces—surfaces that are often unavailable in helicopter-needy environs such as forward operating areas, ships at sea and natural-disaster zones. Having the ability to land on and take off from angled, irregular and moving surfaces would greatly expand the effectiveness of helicopters across many military and national security missions. Continue reading
PreNav Beta-Testing Drone-Based Inspection System
Big IT companies have largely been mum on plans to use drones, but emerging technology from Bay-area startup PreNav appears to have at least intrigued wireless service providers and cell phone tower operators. Continue reading
FALCON – Internet for the Battlespace
The BAE Systems designed Falcon system gives the British Army and Royal Air Force a real advantage in the digital age. Falcon is a fully deployable, tactical communications system with an impressive ability to interface with a wide range of other systems. This means that voice, data and video information can now be shared securely across the battlespace using one common system. Continue reading
Qualcomm Introduces Snapdragon Flight Reference Platform for Cheaper Drones
Known for its key role in the smartphone industry, Qualcomm is now looking to expand their horizons by making a new chip reference design aimed at making drones cheaper for everyone. Continue reading
CAE Plans to Extend Predator Training
CAE has revealed plans to replicate the unmanned air vehicle training that it offers to the US Air Force to more operators of the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems family of Predator UAVs.
First USAF Operational Fielding of MQ-9 Reaper ER
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. announced that its Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper Extended Range (Reaper ER) RPA fleet has achieved a historic milestone with the first operational fielding of Reaper ER by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) last month.