Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.
Aircraft
U.S. Air Force Conducts Advanced Connectivity Trials
For the first time the F-22 and F-35 fifth-generation fighters “talked” to each other securely via datalink.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Eurodrone Looks to Development and Production Contract
The four-nation program for a MALE UAV is awaiting a contract to launch the development and production of 60 air vehicles for service-entry in 2028.
Rotorcraft
Airbus VSR700 Makes ATOLs from Moving Deck
Airbus's optionally piloted vehicle recently made fully autonomous takeoff and landing approaches to and from a moving deck simulator.
Accidents
Los Angeles Drone Pilot Faces Year in Prison
The pilot of drone that hit an LAPD helicopter is facing federal charges for the unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft.
Aircraft
UAE Cleared to Buy F-35A Fighters and MQ-9B Drones
The United Arab Emirates has long sought the F-35 fighter in order to maintain its qualitative edge over its neighbor Iran.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
U.S. Approves MQ-9B SeaGuardians for Taiwan
As well as being cleared for a potential sale to Taiwan, the maritime version of the SkyGuardian is also being demonstrated to Japan’s Coast Guard.
Rotorcraft
Airbus Helicopters Takes New Look at Urban Air Noise
Airbus research into helicopter noise is being used to evaluate potential eVTOL designs.
Rotorcraft
CAAM Debuts with Bell as Launch Member
This week saw the official launch of the Canadian Advanced Air Mobility (CAAM) Coalition, with Bell Textron as a founding member of the group.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
UAM's Challenges Outlined at Bavarian Conference
Safety, noise, and economics will challenge urban air mobility infrastructure development, panelists at Invest in Bavaria's UAM 2020 Conference note.
Safety
FSF Establishes UAS Advisory Committee
Flight Safety Foundation has launched the autonomous and remotely piloted aviation systems advisory committee to address the safety of these operations.
Aircraft
Bell and Xwing Complete NASA Unmanned Demo with APT 70
After demonstrating its detect-and-avoid capability on Bell's APT 70 cargo drone, Xwing is preparing to start flight trials in a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
UAS Groups Prod DOT on Remote ID Rule
DOT and FAA urged not to delay rulemaking covering remote identification requirements (ID) for unmanned aerial systems.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Reliable Robotics Flies Unmanned Cessnas
Gaining experience with unmanned aircraft should give Reliable Robotics a leg up on the race to bring new technologies to market.
Regulations and Government
NBAA Endorses FCC Recommendation of Drone C-band Use
The FCC, evaluating both the L-band and C-band for drone use at the behest of Congress, is concerned that a number of critical systems already use L-band.
Security
FAA To Evaluate Drone-mitigation Technology
The FAA will evaluate at least 10 drone mitigation technologies/systems at its William J. Hughes Technical Center in New Jersey.
Rotorcraft
K-Max Leaps From Unmanned to Autonomous Operations
Near Earth Autonomy and Kaman Aerospace have developed an intelligent autonomy system for the K-Max helicopter.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
U.S. Agencies Issue Advisory on Drone Mitigation
A new advisory issued jointly by four U.S. federal agencies provides "legal landscape" on drone mitigation technology.
Security
U.S. Nears Law Banning Chinese Drones
An amendment to ban U.S. government use of Chinese drones appears almost certain to become law within weeks.
Aircraft
Icarus Launches Optionally-Piloted Multi-Role Aircraft
The TAV/Wasp can be tailored to a wide variety of roles, offering turboprop efficiency for many combat and surveillance tasks.
Aircraft
Emergency First Response Could Boost Urban Air Mobility
Some eVTOL aircraft pioneers see first-response emergency services as a strong early use case for urban air mobility operations.
Aircraft
Sabrewing Aims To Start Flight Tests for Rhaegal eVTOLs
Type certification plans for the first Rhaegal eVTOL aircraft have been pushed back into the first quarter of 2022.
Rotorcraft
NASA Chief: Uncrewed Aircraft 'Safer'
The agency's administrator touts advanced UAM technologies.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Urban Air Mobility Holds Promise of Future Efficiency
The challenge of bringing urban air mobility vehicles to market is making a lot of smart people work very hard on solutions.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Project Mosquito: UK’s ‘Loyal Wingman’ Program Moves Ahead
The UK’s defense laboratory is overseeing a project to develop unmanned vehicles to partner with manned combat aircraft.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
UK Ministry of Defence Signs First Protector Order
The RAF plans to operate 16 Protector remotely piloted aircraft, which are based on the General Atomics MQ-9B SkyGuardian.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Swiss Researchers Develop Fast 'Detect and Avoid' Tech
New detect and avoid technology identifies other fast-moving objects in as little as 3.5 milliseconds.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
StormBreaker Set For Super Hornet
The GBU-53 is currently the only weapon in the U.S. inventory that can hit moving targets at night and in visually-obscured conditions.
Rotorcraft
Unmanned Civil K-Max Helicopter To Deliver in 2021
Kaman Aerospace has already received commitments for its first five unmanned K-1200 K-Max helicopter kits for civil operators.
Rotorcraft
K-Max Operators Awarded Key Firefighting Contracts
Forty percent of all Type 1, large helicopters exclusive use USFS firefighting contracts awarded to Kaman K-Max operators.
Rotorcraft
Perot Pushes Alliance as eVTOL Hub
Perot promotes Fort Worth Alliance airport complex as home for UAS, eVTOL development.
