Sagem has listed the 25 companies that are enrolled in the “Patroller Cluster” and helping it to develop this tactical UAV. Frederic Mazzanti, executive vice president of the company’s Optronics and Defence division, said that nearly 90 percent of the Patroller is made in France and claimed that Sagem’s leadership will create “a competitive French drone industry.” The Safran subsidiary is in a closely-fought French Army competition for a new tactical UAV with Thales and Airbus D&S, with a decision expected by year end.
MBDA Germany Targets Mini-UAVs With Laser
The growing use of micro-UAVs for intrusive surveillance has spurred MBDA Germany to develop a laser technology demonstrator it claims can knock out a small drone at a range of 3 kilometers.
Drone World Expo Announces New Gold Sponsors and Exhibitors
Precision Integrated and DreamHammer, leading companies in the drone industry, have just been announced as Gold Sponsors for the 2015 Drone World Expo. They will join more than 100 companies offering a broad range of applications and solutions in the expo hall and will showcase their products to end-users in the heart of Silicon Valley. The expo and conference will take place at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA from Tuesday, November 17 through Wednesday, November 18, 2015.
Open Mission Systems Architecture Successfully Tested on Global Hawk
Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully flew a new Open Mission Systems (OMS) architecture on a NASA Global Hawk, demonstrating the ability to rapidly and affordably adapt new capabilities onto unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The new architecture implementation flight took place at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.
Textron Awaits Key UAV Decisions
Textron Systems Unmanned Systems is showing off its range of UAVs at the Paris Air Show as the company awaits decisions on two major contracts expected later this year. In November, the French DGA is expected to down-select a contractor to meet its tactical unmanned air system (TUAS) requirement, although the decision process may be accelerated. Before then, Textron expects to find out if its bid for a U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) service provision contract is successful.
First Order for LH Optionally Piloted Aircraft
LH Aviation is showing off the proof-of-concept vehicle of its LHD optionally piloted aircraft at Le Bourget, having recently commenced flight trials. Although the Villaroche-based company has not released any details, the LHD already has its first order and a pre-series batch is under construction. LH Aviation (Static B4) has also signed a memorandum of understanding with OISAerospace covering potential licensed production in India.
Test Flights to Detect Mock Pipeline Hazards
Unmanned aircraft researchers associated with the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership at Virginia Tech tested new sensor technology designed to detect potentially disruptive activities along energy pipeline routes.
Shark Squadron Mustang IV
No. 112 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It served in both the First World War and Second World War and was active for three periods during the Cold War. It is nicknamed “The Shark Squadron”, an allusion to the fact that it was the first unit from any Allied air force to use the famous “shark mouth” logo on Curtiss P-40s.