General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI),has announced the successful second endurance flight of the U.S. Army’s Improved Gray Eagle (IGE) prototype Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), an advanced derivative of the mission-proven Gray Eagle UAS that has accumulated over 100,000 flight hours since 2008. The flight of IGE lasted 36.7 hours, taking off on January 17 and landing on January 19 at the company’s El Mirage Flight Operations Facility in Palmdale, California. Continue reading
Mumbai Police Investigate Pizza Delivery by QuadCopter
Police have launched a probe into the usage of a quadcopter by a Lower Parel-based outlet of a pizza chain in Mumbai, which has now become an internet sensation. The eatery created its own slice of history on May 11 when it successfully test-delivered a 13-inch Margherita from its Lower Parel outlet to a highrise in Worli, 1.5-km away, in 10 minutes using a remote-controlled, GPS-enabled quadcopter. Continue reading
Poor Maintenance Grounds Nigeria’s Israeli UAS
Aerostar – Photo: Aeronautics Defense Systems
The Aerostar unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) acquired by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in 2006 have reportedly been grounded due to a lack of maintenance, limiting surveillance operations against Boko Haram militants. Meanwhile the US has deployed a Predator team to Chad to search for kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls. Continue reading
DARPA Unveils Hack-Proof UAS
The Pentagon’s research arm unveiled a new UAS built with secure software that prevents the control and navigation of the aircraft from being hacked. The programme, called High Assurance Cyber Military Systems, or HACMS, uses software designed to thwart cyber attacks. Continue reading
Stop Calling Them Drones – They’re Just RC Helicopters with a Camera
I don’t know when remote control helicopters became drones, but I think its way past time we stop implying that a fancy RC helicopter with a camera strapped to it is some sort of autonomous Terminator robot.OK sure, in the beginning I know that somebody though that “drone” sounded a lot cooler than “model airplane”. Continue reading
Airbus Seeks Deal to Supply Germany with Heron TP
Airbus (AIR.PA) signed a deal on Wednesday with Israel Aerospace Industries to team up on a bid for a bridging contract to supply the German armed forces with military UAS until 2020. Continue reading
Focke Wulf FW-190A/N – Luftwaffe Fighter
The Chariots Of Fire Fighter Collection’s Focke Wulf FW-190 A/N is shown here during a display at Omaka Aerodrome, Blenhiem, New Zealand. Continue reading
3-D Printing Companies See Growing Market in Unmanned Aircraft
Three-D printing companies are experiencing an explosion of sales to the unmanned aircraft industry, a trend that will likely continue, industry executives said at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference. Continue reading