Cape Town tested a quadcopter recently while police carried out a drug bust in the Cape Flats. When arriving at the suspect’s house, a quadcopter with an infrared camera was launched nearby and watched from above. If any suspects fled, hid, or threw weapons or drugs away, the drone captured it all. Continue reading
GAO Report : Need to Improve RPAS Pilot Training
The Air Force and the Army must do a better job training its remotely piloted aircraft pilots, according to a Government Accountability Office report, released May 14. Continue reading
Turkey to Fit Laser-Guided Missiles to Anka
Turkey will outfit its locally-built drones with a new mini laser-guided rocket, the Bozok. Officials said they plan serial production of the Bozok soon. The rocket was designed and developed by Tubitak SAGE, a government-controlled defense industry research and development institute.
US Army Teamed Apache / Shadow Exercise
The Combat Aviation Brigade’s 3rd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment became the first US Army aviation unit to perform a manned-unmanned teaming tactical exercise using its own Shadow (version 2) drones during an exercise dubbed “Operation Heavy Shadow” that was performed April 21-23 in the desert of Fort Bliss.
Airbus, Finmeccanica and Dassault Aviation Welcome European MALE Study
Europe’s leading aerospace companies Airbus Defence and Space, Dassault Aviation and Finmeccanica have welcomed the agreement of France, Germany and Italy to conduct a definition study of a European developed unmanned aerial system. Continue reading
Jamaica UAV Project to Prevent Illegal Fishing
Rainforest Seafoods Limited, Jamaica’s leading wholesale and retail distributors of seafood, has partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to protect Jamaica’s territorial waters from foreign poachers and other forms of environmental degradation.
Indian E-tailer Plans Drone Deliveries
India’s leading e-tailer Flipkart is thinking beyond the horizon. It wants to use drones to deliver goods to rural areas. The catch is that civilian drones are not allowed in India but the Bangalore-based company, which has grown to be a giant in just seven years since its founding, is expecting to convince the government because it helps remote parts of the country. Continue reading
Lily Offers a Self-Flying Camera
The Lily quadcopter flies itself and can follow you at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour at a height of 10 to 30 feet. But Lily also has packs a nice camera that captures high-definition video (1080p at 60 frame per second). The Menlo Park, Calif.-based startup, Lily Robotics, doesn’t see itself as competing with drone makers like DJI. Instead, it wants to take on action sports camera maker GoPro. Continue reading