The reaction of the Launch and Recovery Element (LRE) mishap pilot to a dual alternator failure began a chain of events that led to the crash of an MQ-1B Predator Feb. 14, 2012, in Afghanistan, according to an Air Combat Command Abbreviated Accident Investigation Board report just released. Continue reading
QinetiQ Small Multi-Spectral Imager First Flight
QinetiQ North America (QNA) recently announced the successful demonstration of its Small Multi-Spectral Imager (sMSI) during its first flight test in Imperial County, California. Continue reading
Belarus Bypasses EU Sanctions to Buy German Engines for UAS
German company 3W Modellmotoren, which produces the motors for small airplanes, stated that dealers resold some of its technologies to Belarus for the use in unmanned aircraft. Continue reading
Inside Boeing’s Wind-Tunnel Model Shop
Boeing just posted this video of its wind tunnel model shop in Seattle. Continue reading
UND to Host Flight Tests with NDSU and NASA for Automatic Sense and Avoid Research
The University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University have partnered with NASA, working on an automatic sense and avoid system for unmanned aircraft. Continue reading
France Considers MALE UAS Partnerships with Several Countries
France, which had favoured a joint project with Britain to build military UAS under the previous government, is looking at partnerships with other countries, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday, as he criticized the cost and effectiveness of the project with Great Britain. Continue reading
Lockheed’s Procerus Acquisition Acclerates Development in Small-UAS Market
Acquisition by defence giant Lockheed Martin in January has put Procerus Technologies, a manufacturer of avionics for small unmanned aircraft systems, on the product-development fast track. Continue reading
MotionDSP Gets $3M US Air Force Contract for GPU Technology
U.S. Air Force researchers are looking to image-processing expert MotionDSP Inc. in Burlingame, California, to use graphics processing unit (GPU) technology to enhance persistent-surveillance imagery gathered from sensors aboard unmanned aircraft. Continue reading