AeroVironment has unveiled its ‘Nano Hummingbird’ – capable of climbing and descending vertically, flying sideways left and right, flying forward and backward, as well as rotating clockwise and counter-clockwise, under remote control and carrying a video camera payload. The milestone was part of the Phase II contract awarded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) programme.
US Navy Postpones Common Ground Control Station for BAMS & Global Hawk
U.S. Navy UAS experts are temporarily shelving plans to contract with the Northrop Grumman Corp. to develop a common ground-control station for the Global Hawk and Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) UAS. Naval officials need more time to re-work requirements for the project, which would have been part of Northrop Grumman’s BAMS system development and demonstration project. For the official notification from FedBizzOps, click here.
Mumbai Police Wants 24 UAS
The Maharashtra State Government has included 24 UAS on a list of equipment being procured for the Mumbai Police Force, according to the Mumbai Mirror newspaper. Funding for the 1.1-billion-rupee ($24 million) programme, which includes other anti-terrorist kit, would be met by the state and central governments.
NASA Research Announcement on UAS Integration into the National Airspace System
A recent amendment to the NASA Research Announcement (NRA) “Research Opportunities In Aeronautics – 2010” calls for a 5-page White Paper to be submitted by February 25, 2011 as step 1 in a two-step programme. The expected annual programme budget is $7.5M for Year 1 and up to $2M/year in Years 2-5.
US Defence Budget – Winners and Losers
The US Defence Budget for 2012 requests 1,395 new UAS, down from the 1,545 that Congress approved for 2010.
Sea Avenger Completes Wind Tunnel Tests
General Atomics has announced that it has successfully completed a key wind tunnel test on a model of its Sea Avenger UAS. The test validated the low-speed characteristics of a new wing, resulting in higher endurance and lower approach speeds. The new wing is also designed to increase aircraft dash speeds, decreasing the time to respond to potential threats.
Tennessee University Teams with ISR Group for Research and New Academic Programme
Middle Tennessee State University and the ISR Group, based in Savannah, Tennessee, have signed a multi-year collaborative agreement to develop a new Unmanned Aircraft System programme in the south-eastern United States. The agreement ties MTSU’s nationally ranked Department of Aerospace with ISR Group’s industry-leading UAS experts, facilities and flight range.
BAE and Stark File Experimental Radio Applications at the FCC
BAE Systems Unmanned Aircraft Programs Inc. filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for an experimental license to develop radio link equipment used in UAS operated by military branches for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) applications. Stark Aerospace filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for an experimental license to test a UAS for public safety and military applications.