Harris, a Pentagon contractor with experience in commercial broadcast video products, is currently developing an application for Apple’s iPad and other tablets that that will act as a remote display for images and video captured by UAS.
Thales UK Watchkeeper Ahead of Schedule
Photo: Thales
Project trials for Thales UK Watchkeeper tactical UAS will now begin in June, with the systems expected to be in service with British Army by February 2012. Thales UK’s Nick Miller told UAS VISION “Our building programme is ahead of schedule. The first 10 air vehicles and several ground control stations are already built.”
Japan TV Shows Global Hawk over Fukushima Nuclear Plant
Several Japanese TV stations (NTV above) have been showing footage of a Global Hawk taking off and flying over the N°1 Reactor at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant. We know that the Guam-based aircarft has been helping with surveillance missions – what would be really interesting is to see what Global Hawk saw….
NASA Issues RFI on Command and Control Communication Systems
NASA Glenn Research Center has issued an RFI for potential sources and partners for the design and development of a Command and Control communication (C2) system prototype for unmanned aircraft.
American UAS Help Mexico Track Drug Traffickers
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been flying Predator UAS over Mexico for two years, helping Mexican authorities track suspected drug traffickers. These flights, approved by Mexico but never announced by either country, predate occasional flights into Mexico by the U.S. Air Force’s Global Hawk that began last month.
IBC to Develop Lightweight Beryllium Aluminium Alloys for UAS
IBC Advanced Alloys announced that it has entered into a Development and Technical Services accord with the US Navy’s Tactical Multi-Mission Unmanned Aerial Systems Programme and the US Military’s Army Research Laboratory (ARL) based in Aberdeen, Maryland to assess the use of lightweight beryllium aluminium alloys in the Beralcast series.
X-47B Flight Tests Expanded
X-47B Landing at Edwards Air Force Base
Less than a month after the first flight of the U.S. Navy’s X-47B UCAS-Demonstration aircraft, flight test engineers from Northrop Grumman and the Navy have successfully completed the aircraft’s second and third flights. The flights, both conducted at Edwards Air Force Base, mark the beginning of the envelope expansion process to prove that the tailless aircraft can perform safely over a broad range of altitudes, air speeds and operating weights.
US Army Awards AAI $13M Contract for TCDL on 2 Shadows
AAI Corporation has won a $12.6 million contract from the US Army Contracting command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, to install Tactical Common Data Link equipment on two Shadow UAS.