Aviation Industry Corp. of China, the country’s biggest aerospace company, agreed to buy Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH, focusing the insolvent German supplier fully on powering private aircraft and away from American UAS. Continue reading
Professional UAS Images from Smartphone Camera
Lehmann Aviation (France) has launched the LA300, an automatic UAS for professional, still aerial images (41MP) and video, for most accurate mapping and surveying. Designed for professional applications, including georeferenced orthomosaics and digital elevation models (DEM), the LA300 achieves professional imaging using the Nokia 1020 smartphone camera.
FAA Plans Unmanned ‘Sense and Avoid’ Rule in 2016
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration expects to formulate a standard by 2016 that will permit unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to interoperate with manned aircraft using an “electronic means” to see and avoid potential collisions, according to the executive leading the FAA’s effort to introduce UAS into the airspace system.
L-3 Link Wins Predator Mission Aircrew Training System Recompete
L-3 Communications announced that its Link Simulation & Training (L-3 Link) division has won the recompete for the U.S. Air Force’s Predator Mission Aircrew Training System (PMATS) programme. Continue reading
German Heron Clocks Up 15,000 Operational Flight Hours in Afghanisatn
At the beginning of July, the Heron 1 UAS logged its 15,000th operational flight hour. The three systems, which are operated by Cassidian subsidiary Airborne Solutions on behalf of the Luftwaffe, are stationed in Mazar-e-Sharif in north Afghanistan where they are serviced by an experienced team of engineers, pilots and UAS specialists.
First Upgraded MQ-8C Fire Scout Delivered to US Navy
The U.S. Navy got its first look at the upgraded MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned system when Northrop Grumman Corporation delivered its first MQ-8C system this month.
Fake ‘Speed Enforced By Drones’ Signs Appear on California Highways
San Francisco Bay Area CBS station KPIX reports that the California Highway Patrol (CHP) recently discovered a number of fake road signs in the Bay Area that read “Speed Enforced By Drones.” Continue reading
Unmanned Aerial Survey of Elephants – Research Article
The use of a UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) was tested to survey large mammals in the Nazinga Game Ranch in the south of Burkina Faso. The Gatewing ×100 equipped with a Ricoh GR III camera was used to test animal reaction as the UAS passed, and visibility on the images.