Australian company Flirtey teamed up last year with fellow Australian startup Zookai, promising schoolbooks delivered by drone. Almost twelve months on, CEO Matt Sweeney has secured a partnership to conduct high-tech testing at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and is eyeing off New Zealand as a testbed to grow his business. Continue reading
German National Charged for Third Yellowstone Lake Drone Crash
A German national who crashed a drone in Yellowstone National Park is facing four misdemeanor charges. Andreas Meissner of Koenigswinter, Germany, was charged with four misdemeanors, including violating a park ban on drones.
Lancaster Flypast
Lockheed Martin and Warsaw University Test Autonomous Control Sytem
In collaboration with Lockheed Martin, a team of research students and staff from Warsaw University of Technology successfully demonstrated the first phase of flight test and integration of unmanned aircraft platforms with an autonomous mission control system. Continue reading
UCLASS RFP Delayed Again Following Pentagon Meeting
The final request for proposal (RFP) for the Navy’s planned carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been delayed pending a review of the service’s information, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) portfolio as part of the service’s budget process this fall, Navy officials told USNI News. Continue reading
Elbit Upgrades Hermes 90
Elbit Systems is offering a newly upgraded version of its Hermes 90 unmanned air system to some potential customers, and expects to agree one contract before the end of the year.
Poland’s Flytronic Shows off Manta VTOL UAV
Polish unmanned air vehicle manufacturer Flytronic is using the MSPO defence show in Kielce to highlight its range, as Poland’s military looks to acquire systems across five weight categories. Pride of place on its stand is the Manta LE, a hybrid-engined intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform that can offer vertical take-off and landing capability, as well as regular flight. Continue reading
UAS Map Melting Glaciers in the Himalayas
Scientists at the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a Nepal-based research institute, and colleagues at Utrecht University in the Netherlands used unmanned aerial vehicles – UAVs, or drones to the layman – to map the Lirung glacier in Nepal in 2013. Their results appear in the July issue of the journal Science Direct. Continue reading