AeroVironment, Inc. announced it has received a firm fixed-price order valued at $21,779,408 for RQ-12 Wasp®AE small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and initial spares packages for the United States Marine Corps. Continue reading
Kirin Beer QuadCopters
Japanese brewery Kirin unveiled a new campaign for their Off White brand of imitation beer products known as happoshu. To help promote their cheaper beer substitute, Kirin will be dispatching six drones painted like pigeons to fly around and record the people of Taketa City in Oita Prefecture. Continue reading
FAA Exemptions for Commercial UAS Movie and TV Production
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced on September 25th that the Federal Aviation Administration has granted regulatory exemptions to six aerial photo and video production companies, the first step to allowing the film and television industry the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System. Secretary Foxx made the announcement on a conference call with FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and Chris Dodd, chairman and chief executive officer of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. Continue reading
German National Banned from Yellowstone After QuadCopter Crash
A German national who crashed a drone into Yellowstone National Park’s Lake Yellowstone has received one year of unsupervised probation as well as a one-year ban from the park. Continue reading
DroneDeploy Raises $2M in Seed Funding
DroneDeploy, a startup that makes it possible for just about anyone to fly small drones and analyze the images they capture using a tablet or smartphone, has raised $2 million in seed funding. Investors included SoftTech VC, Data Collective, Red Point Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and AngelPad.
Portuguese Army uses Portuguese UAS in Kosovo
The Portuguese ese army is nearing the end of a NATO deployment in Kosovo using its indigenously-built Tekever unmanned air vehicles (UAV).
Northrop Grumman Gets $78M USAF Global Hawk Spare Parts Order
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, San Diego, California, has been awarded a $78,066,102 firm-fixed-price delivery order under a basic order agreement for initial Global Hawk Block 40 spare parts. Continue reading
Queensland University UAS in Biosecurity Research Programme
A new three-year project will see Queensland-based university QUT joining an international biosecurity research programme involving unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The project will see UA (unmanned aircraft) fitted with new high-tech imaging equipment to test how effective they are in identifying pests and diseases in horticultural and grains industries. Continue reading