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UAS adapted for water leak detection Photo: Arad
An Israeli company, Arad Technologies, a world leader in wireless automatic meter reading systems, has recently developed a two pound Unmanned Aircraft that can travel 900 feet above ground and detect water leaks. It can collect data from water meters every 11 to 30 seconds and capture readings of a whole city in less than one hour.
Brock Technologies has announced its new Shark Unmanned Aircraft System. A small UAS capable of performing silent ISR at low altitudes for long periods of time, it is designed to fit within a five inch inner diameter launch tube. The Shark is built with the latest in composite materials and processes to produce an affordable system that weighs only 5.5 pounds.
Steve Sliwa, chief executive of Insitu Inc., a subsidiary of The Boeing Co., will retire April 1 after 10 years with the company. A replacement is currently being sought.
Yesterday, in reply to its petition, UVS International received a letter from Mr Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission, and Responsible for Transport, in which Mr Kallas indicated that he fully shared the views of UVS International. In addition, in reference to the European Commission’s High Level Group, which is being constituted “to develop a single European Roadmap dealing with the structural, institutional and regulatory measures that need to be tackled”, Mr Kallas indicated “Without wanting to pre-empt any decisions that will be taken in this regard, I am confident that the close involvement of UVS International to this work will be ensured”.
AeroVironment, Inc. has announced that it received a firm fixed-price order valued at $7,800,003 under an existing contract with the U.S. Army on January 25, 2011. The order comprises 919 digital module upgrade kits for the U.S. Marine Corps. The upgrade kits allow digital Raven unmanned aircraft systems to operate using a different frequency band than provided by the regular configuration.
AAI Corporation has announced that the Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System programme received the Best PBL (Performance Based Logistics) Implementation award at the 7th Annual Defense Logistics Awards ceremony. This award was established to “honour, recognize and promote the logisticians in the U.S. Department of Defense and the Defense Industry that have made a significant contribution to military logistics.”
Scientists at The University of Glasgow and EADS Innovation Works (EADS IW) are working on using nanotechnology to improve the efficiency of the Hydrisafe tank developed by Hydrogen Horizons Ltd, a small start-up company, to store hydrogen in a solid state. By modifying the composition and microstructure of the tank and hydrogen storage materials through nanotechnology, they hope to make it possible to store and distribute the hydrogen so efficiently that it becomes viable for powering fuel cells on aeroplanes.
The University of North Dakota has concluded an agreement with L-3 Communications to provide Predator Mission Aircrew Training System units for its training facility at Grand Forks Air Force Base. The total cost of the training facility is about $2 million, of which $1.6 million will go into furnishings and equipment, including the simulators. Most of the funding came from the state Department of Commerce