Like snowflakes, no two branches are alike. They can differ in size, shape and texture; some might be wet or moss-covered or bursting with offshoots. And yet birds can land on just about any of them. This ability was of great interest to the labs of Stanford University engineers Mark Cutkosky and David Lentink – now at University of Groningen in the Netherlands – which have both developed technologies inspired by animal abilities. Continue reading
Ascendance Flight Technologies Unveils Hybrid-Electric Aircraft
After three years of R&D, the French start-up Ascendance Flight Technologies builds on the virtues of hybrid technology and distributed propulsion to develop sustainable air travel solutions unveiling the design of ATEA, its 5-seater vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Continue reading
Insitu Pacific to Test Lithium Sulphur Batteries
Li-S Energy has signed an agreement with Insitu Pacific to integrate and test Li-S Energy’s innovative battery technology in Insitu’s range of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS). Located in Brisbane, Insitu Pacific was established in 2009 and serves defence customers across the Asia Pacific region and commercial customers globally. Continue reading
Hillson FH 40 Slip Wing Hurricane
The Hillson Bi-mono was a British experimental aircraft of the 1940s. It was designed to test the idea of “slip-wings”, where the aircraft could take off as a biplane, jettison the upper, disposable wing, and continue flying as a monoplane. Continue reading
Test Flights for Urban Air Mobility Deployment in Poland
A first series of test flights with drones got underway in November in Rzeszów, Poland, as part of the SESAR JU Uspace4UAM large-scale demonstration. Continue reading
Japan-Based DRONE FUND Invests in Wingcopter
German drone delivery pioneer Wingcopter has announced that it has received an investment from DRONE FUND. DRONE FUND is a Japan-based venture capital company specializing in drone- and air mobility-related startups. Continue reading
AeroVironment Gets $4M sUAS Contract for US Ally
AeroVironment, Inc. has announced that it received a $4,151,320 firm-fixed-price U.S. Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract award on Sept. 27, 2021 to provide Puma 3 AE and Wasp AE small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), initial spares packages, training and support to an allied nation. Continue reading
SwissDrones and CLS Deploy for Maritime Operations
SwissDrones, a company that develops, manufactures and operates long-range unmanned helicopter systems for commercial and public safety applications, and CLS, a pioneer in satellite-based monitoring and surveillance solutions, connecting from space SwissDrones UAVs, are bringing together the power of satellite data with the agility of unmanned aerial drones. Continue reading