The U.S. Air Force awarded a $555.6 million contract to Northrop Grumman to modernize its fleet of Global Hawk unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Continue reading
First Catapult Launch of an Unmanned Aircraft from an Aircraft Carrier
The Northrop Grumman X-47B UCAS-D demonstrator should make the first catapult launch of an unmanned aircraft from an aircraft carrier – or, wait… a “modern” aircraft carrier. Continue reading
SAAB Skeldar Completes Successful Demonstration Flights
Saab has verified a number of key capabilities of its Skeldar V-200 vertical lift UAS through flight campaigns at different sites in US and Sweden demonstrating the system’s performance for both land and sea based operations. A number of successful customer demonstration flights have also been conducted. Continue reading
Google Ventures Bets $10.7M on UAS App Ecosystem Developer
Google Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz Wednesday announced a $10.7 million investment in Airware, a company that is creating a common platform for UAS that will allow developers to create industry-specific applications for unmanned aircraft without worrying about the specific underlying hardware. The company is run by Jonathan Downey, 29, who wants to be the Bill Gates of the commercial UAS industry. Continue reading
Northrop Grumman’s X47-B Completes 1st Carrier Catapult Launch
The successful catapult launch of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) occurred at 11:18 a.m. Eastern time on May 14 while the carrier was under way off the coast of Virginia. Continue reading
Israel Behind 41% of All UAS Exports from 2001 – 2011
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said that Israeli companies were behind 41 percent of all UAS exported in 2001-11. Those Israeli exports went to 24 countries, including the United States.
Oregon National Guard Syarts Training Flights with RQ-7 Shadow
Oregon National Guard soldiers are scheduled to start the first unmanned training flights for a National Guard unit in U.S. airspace.
TAI Plans to Extend UAS Portfolio
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is looking to build on the work undertaken for its Anka UAS and further develop its rotary-wing capabilities. Continue reading