Ukrainian volunteers are seeking a partner to help bring a new unmanned air vehicle to the nation’s armed forces in their fight against separatist rebels in the east of the country. Continue reading
FAA Releases Pilot UAS Reports
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a new list of pilot, air traffic and citizen reports of possible encounters with unmanned aircraft (UAS). The reports cover November 13, 2014 through August 20, 2015. Continue reading
AeroVironment Gets $47M US Army Contract for Raven and Puma Sustainment
AeroVironment, Inc. has announced the receipt since May 1, 2015 of ten orders from the United States Army totalling $47.1 million for RQ-11B Raven and RQ-20A Puma AE unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) sustainment. This total value includes seven orders awarded on July 23 totalling $35,196,388.
Wing Loong Live-fire Missile Test
China has for the first time made public the video footage of a Wing Loong live fire missile test. In the live-fire missile test conducted in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in late July, Wing Loong, a typical made-in-China military drone, fired eight kinds of weapons at intended targets. Continue reading
Drone World Expo – 16 New Speakers Announced
The organisers of Drone World Expo have announced that sixteen new speakers have been added to an already impressive series of sessions. “Our Advisory Board is helping us to develop a stellar conference program with presentations from leaders in the industry that is attracting end users from around the world who are registering to attend the event in droves,” said Joel Davis, President, JD Events, producers of Drone World Expo. Continue reading
Lockheed Skunk Works Next-gen U-2 Spy Plane
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works is designing a next-generation high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) surveillance airplane, known internally as RQ-X or UQ-2, as an optionally-manned successor to the U-2 and Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk. Continue reading
LED License Plates for Drones
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, are now testing a kind of license plate for drones they think could help make drone operators more accountable. The project, called Lightcense, involves a rectangular array of bright, multicolored LEDs attached to the underside of a craft. The LEDs blink a unique pattern that could be looked up in a database by law enforcement to identify a drone’s owner.
Yamaha RMAX Gets CAA Part 102 Authorisation in New Zealand
The Yamaha RMAX unmanned helicopter has become the first drone to be certified for flight in New Zealand under Part 102 of the Civil Aviation Rules.