The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has stood-up an experimental unit dedicated to developing an operational ‘swarming drones’ capability, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) told Jane’s . Continue reading
Is Iran’s Ababil 3 a Bribe from a South African Telco ?
The latest iteration of Iran’s Ababil looks much different than its predecessor generations. Though it still uses a pusher configuration, the “Ababil 3” is strikingly similar to South Africa’s Denel Seeker — which it may, in fact, be, either a reverse-engineered copy or simply straight-up rebadged. Continue reading
VOXL Flight Fuses Flight Controller and Companion Computer on Single Board
ModalAI has released VOXL Flight, the first open-development platform for autonomous drone navigation that fuses a companion computer with a PX4 flight controller on one printed circuit board (PCB). Continue reading
Amazon Hires ex-Boeing Exec to Run Prime Air
Amazon has hired a former Boeing executive to run its Prime Air drone delivery business, signaling the retail giant’s plans to expand the unit so that it can eventually start flying regular 30-minute shipments to customers’ homes. Continue reading
Learning Visuomotor Policies for Aerial Navigation
Sensing technologies have improved steadily, but the ability of robots to make decisions in real time based on what they perceive still has a long way to go to equal or surpass human capabilities. Researchers from Microsoft Corp., Carnegie Mellon University, and Oregon State University have been collaborating to improve perception-action loops. Continue reading
New NOAA Program to Support and Expand Use of UAS
NOAA is establishing a new Unmanned Systems Operations Program to support the rapidly expanding use of these systems across the agency. The new program will promote the safe, efficient and economical operation of unmanned systems (UxS) NOAA uses to collect high-quality environmental data for the agency’s science, products and services. Continue reading
GA-ASI Completes First Production-Representative MQ-9B SkyGuardian
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has completed the first production-representative MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). First flight of this aircraft took place on March 30, 2020 at GA-ASI’s Flight Operations Facility in El Mirage, California. Continue reading
Northrop Grumman M-ACE C-UAS in Final Testing Phase
Northrop Grumman’s Mobile Acquisition and Cueing Effector (M-ACE) hunter/killer CUAS prototype demonstrator, with the extended SDS-12 stabilised aluminium tower, based on a dedicated Ford F250 platform
Northrop Grumman Defense Systems has completed US government testing of its programmable Light Weight 30 mm Proximity Sensing Ammunition (LW30 PROX) round, and is moving towards qualification and fielding of the round to US Army and US Marine Corps air defence echelons within the year. Continue reading