an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is aiming to evaluate the viability of using small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) in augmenting maintenance operations, troubleshooting, restoration, emergency response activities, as well as evaluating potential risks and impacts in/around National Air Space (NAS) facilities and infrastructure. Continue reading
Princeton Infrared Technologies, Inc. (PIRT), has been selected by AFWERX for a SBIR Phase II contract in the amount of $749,961 focused on the development of extended wavelength short wave infrared (SWIR) for hyperspectral imaging on unmanned systems to investigate its potential to fill capability gaps in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). Continue reading
Over a decade ago, Iran claimed rolling out its “fifth-generation” Qaher-313 stealth fighter jet, projected as the country’s most advanced warplane. An Iranian defense ministry now says the country is ready to convert this stealth fighter into an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Continue reading
The Current Situation
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly referred to as “drones”, embody the technological progress made in several key technology areas, and the constantly growing number of their potential applications holds the promise of supplying substantial societal benefits. The design, production, and the use of UAS, and the associated ecosystem, represent a sector with significant economic value and have the potential to create a wide variety of jobs in all 27 European Union (EU) Member States. Continue reading
Test flights of drones fitted with equipment to identify and measure the radiation being emitted from a plume source have been conducted at the Mol site of Belgium’s Nuclear Research Centre (SCK-CEN). Further tests flights are planned for later this year to prove a new, precise measurement technique. Continue reading
It likely wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the United States Department of Defense (DoD) oversees a number of classified programs of which few know all the details. Known as “Special Access Programs” (SAPs), these are established to control access and distribution and provide protection for sensitive classified information beyond that normally required. As previously reported, this is a high state of enforced need-to-know, and only a minimum number of cleared employees are given access to SAP information. Continue reading
A new project in Denmark is developing a concept for wind turbine inspection and repair that employs fully autonomous drones operating from service operation vessels (SOVs), which are outfitted with charging stations for drones. The solution is said to significantly reduce downtime, CO2 emissions and operation and maintenance (O&M) costs if deployed at scale. Continue reading
Scientists at the College of Computer Science and Cyber Security, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu and the National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Information System Security, Beijing, China have just published a paper entitled ‘Safeguarding UAV Networks against Active Eavesdropping: An Elevation Angle-Distance Trade-Off for Secrecy Enhancement‘. Continue reading