After a rigorous 10-month selection process involving 25 proposals from 24 states, the Federal Aviation Administration has chosen six unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) research and test site operators across the country. In selecting the six test site operators, the FAA considered geography, climate, location of ground infrastructure, research needs, airspace use, safety, aviation experience and risk.
General Atomics Gets $32M United Kingdom Contractor Logistics Support Contract
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. has been awarded a $31,937,493 cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price undefinitized contract action (FA8620-10-G-3038 0080 09) for United Kingdom contractor logistics support (CLS) phase 1 and 2 effort consisting of urgent repairs and services, logistics support, field service representative support, contractor inventory control point and spares management, depot repair, flight operations support and field maintenance. Continue reading
Central New York’s NUAIR National UAS Test Site Announces First Customer
Only days after Syracuse-based NUAIR won federal designation to operate one of six national test sites for unmanned aircraft, the alliance has landed its first client from private industry. Continue reading
Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton Flight Testing
Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy have completed nine initial flight tests of the Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS), marking the half-way point in a process called envelope expansion.
SWARM Flight of Small Quadcoptors Interacting with Humans
A video just released by the Aerospace Robotics and Control Laboratory at the University of Illinois shows a group of ten small, highly manoeuvrable commercially available quadrotors made to act as a squadron, using autonomous control/guidance algorithms inspired from the lab’s work in distributed, cooperative control and a Vicon motion capture system.
Northland College Offers One-Year UAS Imagery Analysis Certificate
Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls now offers a one-year Imagery Analysis certificate, the first of its kind in the nation, and a two-year associate’s degree in Geospatial Intelligence Analysis. Continue reading
President Goodluck Jonathan Commissions First Nigerian-Made UAS
In December 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan, in the capital city of Kaduna, unveiled the first Nigerian made unmanned aircraft system, named ‘Gulma’ meaning ‘gossip’ in the local Hausa language. It was produced by the Nigerian Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) with the help of aerospace engineers from Cranfield University in Britain. Continue reading
Sukhoi SU-35 Extreme Manoeuvrability at the Paris Air Show 2013 – Video
The Sukhoi SU-35 made a stunning performance at the Paris Air Show 2013. Continue reading