The Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAA) has granted an operating license to two companies, Steadicopter and Bladeworks, that operate UAS. The licenses are the first ones given to this innovative aviation field, and enable use of UA systems for civilian purposes, such as aerial photography, agricultural research, security of civilian infrastructures, mapping and more. Continue reading
Russian Helicopters Demonstrates Rotary UAS for Airborne Forces
Russian Helicopters, the holding that produces rotorcraft in Russia, has shown a demonstrator future rotary-wing unmanned aircraft system to the country’s Airborne Forces (VDV), the company announced last week. Continue reading
Where Did AeroVironment’s 22,000+ UAS Go ?
Analysts following AeroVironment ($631 million market cap) find that it is full of surprises. When the company reported its Q2 2014 numbers, revenues were down 19% year over year, but the news wasn’t nearly as bad as the 33% plunge in revenues that investment banker Sterne Agee had predicted. Continue reading
UAS Spotters Guide
Amsterdam-based designer Ruben Pater has created the Drone Survival Guide, a poster featuring to-scale silhouettes of common UAS and tips for spotting them in the style of traditional bird or airplane spotting guides. Continue reading
India to Buy 15 Heron UAS from Israel
A proposal to procure 15 Heron UAS at a cost of around Rs 1,200 crore (USD 195M) was approved by the Cabinet committee on security headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at its recent meeting . Continue reading
General Atomics gets $362M US Air Force Predator Logistics Contract
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has been awarded a $362,193,866 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Predator (MQ1)/Reaper (MQ9) Unmanned Aerial Systems contractor logistic support sustainment. Continue reading
Low-Cost Test Platform UAS with 3D Printed Parts
PTERA is a scale 737 unmanned aircraft system with big implications for the world of commercial aircraft. Created by aerospace engineering company Area-I in Georgia, PTERA is the unmanned Prototype-Technology Evaluation and Research Aircraft yielding inexpensive flight research for commercial aircraft and NASA, and it’s using 3D Printing in a few instrumental ways. Continue reading
Dragonfly Pictures Builds Twin-Rotor UAS in Pennsylvania
“The technology is out of Pandora’s box,” said Michael Piasecki, President and Founder of Essington-based Dragonfly Pictures Inc. Working for the military, the Delaware County company has developed several UAS. Continue reading