A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Air and Marine Predator B aircraft successfully completed the first long-range unmanned aircraft patrol to utilise the expanded certificate of authorization (COA) that was issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this week-increasing the effectiveness of homeland security unmanned aircraft missions in support of counternarcotics, counterterrorism and border security operations.
ManTech Wins $57M Naval Contract
ManTech International Corporation, a leading provider of innovative technologies and solutions for mission-critical national security programmes, has announced that the company has been awarded a $57 million contract by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to provide engineering, technical and administrative support for naval aircraft (including unmanned aircraft) and systems. The contract has a one-year period of performance plus four option years.
JPDO Gets New Look & New Deputy Director
The US Government’s Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), set up by the US Congress in 2003 to manage the partnerships designed to bring NextGen online, has a new look and a new Deputy Director, Mike Dudley (ex NASA).
China: Xiamen Test Flies UAS in Tong’an, Builds Research Centre
Mr. Zhao Jianqing, CEO of Xiamen Milestone Group, shows guests the Unmanned Aircraft
Xiamen Milestone Group has become the first enterprise in Fujian to design and make a successful trial flight of an unmanned aircraft. The trial flight was carried out on Jan 4th, 2011 and the company plans to market the aircraft in May this year.
Finland UAS Bid Shortlist
Finland’s Ministry of Defence has narrowed the field in its competition to provide the Finnish army with mini UAS. The shortlist is: DRAC (EADS Cassidian), Spylite (BlueBird) , Skylark (Elbit) , Bird-Eye 650 (IAI) and the Orbiter (Aeronautics Defense Systems). The Finnish army plans to acquire 30-45 Unmanned Aircraft Sysytems in a deal valued at around $25 million. The bid is expected to be narrowed down to two finalists in February 2011, with a contract to be awarded in April.
AAI Splits Into Three
Textron Systems, announced yesterday that AAI, an operating unit of the company, will become three separate operating units – AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems, AAI Test & Training and AAI Logistics & Technical Services – led by Steven Reid, Bob Peters and Diane Giuliani, respectively. Reid, Peters and Giuliani have been promoted to senior vice presidents and general managers of their businesses, reporting to Fred Strader, Textron Systems’ president and chief executive officer.
Hughes and Tachyon Team to Develop Advanced Airborne Networking Solutions
Tachyon Networks, developer of aXiom end-to-end satellite solutions for fixed, portable and comms-on-the-move (COTM) applications and Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, today announced their intention to cooperate in the development of end-to-end airborne COTM solutions for military and government markets. This broad-based cooperation will focus on solutions for manned and unmanned aircraft, initially fixed-wing and later rotary wing aircraft, which require full-motion HD video transmission capabilities.
US Army Accelerates UAS Deliveries
The US Army is speeding up delivery of some of its newer Unmanned Aircraft System assets such as the Gray Eagle and expanding the size and range of its overall fleet to include a Family of Small UAS and a Vertical-Take-Off-and-Landing UAS. “We’re going to accelerate Gray Eagle yet again. We’re accelerating from two systems per year to three systems per year, which will result in seventeen systems being procured by FY 2014,” said Tim Owings, deputy project manager for Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems.