In mid-January, scientists from four universities will fly small, unmanned aircraft systems over sagebrush habitat near Magic Reservoir to obtain information about the habitat needs of pygmy rabbits. The pygmy rabbit has been considered for listing as an endangered species since 2003, when the Hailey-based Western Watersheds Project and several other conservation groups filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2010, the agency rejected the petition on the grounds that it did not have enough data to decide whether the species warranted listing, but a spokesman told the Idaho Mountain Express at that time that the rabbits’ sagebrush habitat was clearly shrinking. Continue reading
Uruguay Police to Get UAS for Montevideo Surveillance
Continuing the Safe City programme, which includes the installation of hundreds of security cameras especially in the downtown area of Montevideo, the Ministry of the Interior of Uruguay has confirmed it will start using UAS for surveillance and monitoring of the city. Continue reading
Pentagon Plans to Weaponize More UAS
As the war in Afghanistan ends and new threats emerge in the Asia-Pacific region, the Pentagon is considering adapting multiple weapons for UAS, including the Cold War-era Hydra 70 rocket and the Laser Homing Attack or Anti-Tank Missile, or LAHAT, according to its latest report on the future of unmanned systems. Continue reading
Automated UAS Battery Changer – Lego Prototype from Valhalla
Danish company, Valhalla Drone Solutions, a group of seven engineers from the University of Southern Denmark in Odense has developed a prototype Lego Mindstorms robot that automatically switches a quadrotor’s battery pack.
FAA Test Sites – Map
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.