In 1976, US Air Force SR-71 Blackbird crews flew from New York to London in less than two hours, reaching speeds exceeding Mach 3 and setting world records that have held up for nearly four decades. Today, at the birthplace of the Blackbird – Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works – engineers are developing a hypersonic aircraft that will go twice the speed of the SR-71. It’s called the SR-72. Continue reading
Triton Unmanned Aircraft Wing Strength Exceeds US Navy Requirement
Northrop Grumman Corp. and Triumph Aerostructures – Vought Aircraft Division, a subsidiary of Triumph Group, Inc., have successfully demonstrated the structural strength of the U.S. Navy’s Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS) wing. Continue reading
“Crash Happy” Gimball UAS Bounces Off Obstacles
An interesting flying robot has been created called Gimball that is specifically designed to be able to crash and recover quickly. The creators of the robot designed it to be used in situations that might be hazardous for humans. The flying device has a spherical roll cage mounted on pivots that allows the helicopter to stay upright, as well as to handle cramped spaces where other aircraft would likely crash. Continue reading
Raytheon and US Air Force Complete Successful Flight Tests for Small Diameter Bomb II
Raytheon Company and the U.S. Air Force concluded a series of test flights with the Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) culminating in direct hits on targets moving at operationally representative speeds. Continue reading
Israeli Skylark UAS Down inside Gaza Strip- Hamas Collects Wreckage
An unmanned Israeli surveillance aircraft crashed in the Gaza Strip on Sunday after experiencing a technical malfunction, the military said. The military said it was investigating what caused the Skylark UAS to go down. Continue reading
Korea to Go Ahead with Purchase of 4 Global Hawks
The Korean military has decided to buy four Global Hawk unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as part of building its kill chain system, an arms procurement officer said last Friday. Continue reading
Northrop Grumman, U.S. Navy Complete First Flight of Next Generation Fire Scout
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Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy successfully completed the first flight of the next-generation MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif. Continue reading
New Unmanned Aircraft Research Centre Opening in Texas
Texas A&M University has approved the establishment of a new facility for research and testing of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The Lone Star Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center (LSUASC), a joint collaboration of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), will provide research, testing and training to support the integration of UAS into civil airspace. Continue reading