The U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk and other variants of Northrop Grumman Corporation’s High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) series continued to prove their value to U.S. government agencies by flying more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission hours in one week than ever before.
Ethan Hawke Pilots Drones in ‘Good Kill’ Trailer
The drone pilot drama Good Kill just released an international trailer. Hit or miss sci-fi director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, In Time) is at the helm of this film that follows Hawke as a fighter pilot who has adapted with technology and become a drone pilot. However, the task of piloting a drone for 12 hours a day and carrying out targeted kills from thousands of miles away just doesn’t feel right for the Air Force veteran. It looks like we might get some provocative political commentary on drones, not unlike what Niccol delivered with Lord of War before. Continue reading
Skysense Automatic Charging Pad
Skysense has launched a portable charging pad which enables drones to land on it before charging up the exhausted drone’s batteries automatically. Continue reading
UAS Border Patrol Flights not Effective
U.S. unmanned jets fielded to catch border trespassers have not proved their worth — with an annual cost of $62.5 million and few apprehensions to show for it, according to a federal watchdog report.
WW1 Dogfight – Sopwith Triplane, Pfalz D.III and Nieuport 11
Three World War One fighter aircraft, a Sopwith Triplane, Nieuport N.11 and a Pfalz DIII, are seen dogfighting in this video. Continue reading
UAS Feature at Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show
An Unmanned Systems Marketplace debuts this year at the annual International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), being held this week in Las Vegas. The marketplace highlights the burgeoning technology in drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and other unmanned systems controlled by onboard computers or remotely from the ground.
A Million Commercial Drones to Fly in 2015
Big Four firm Deloitte has predicted that more than a million commercial drones will take to the skies in 2015 as technological advances allow for further developments. Deloitte explained that with 700,000 commercial drones currently in use and more than 300,000 ordered globally for 2015, this year will see more than a million commercial drones.
Worldwide, total industry revenues are expected to reach between £125m and £250m, based on predictions of drones costing £125 or more.
Paul Lee, Deloitte’s head of technology, media, and telecommunications research, said that with average flight costs totalling £6 a trip, it was unlikely that the devices – also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) – would be used for home deliveries. Continue reading
General Atomics Gets $43M USAF Reaper Retrofit Contract
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has been awarded a $43,291,564 firm-fixed-price contract for MQ-9 Reaper field retrofit. Contractor will provide retrofit kits for the MQ-9 Reaper Block 1 configuration aircraft with field retrofit capabilities.