March 31, 2005

$26M to Upgrade Predator Drone's Targeting

'Raytheon Systems Co. in McKinney, TX received a $26 million firm-fixed-price modification under previously awarded Basic Ordering Agreement (N00164-00-G-0007) to upgrade the MQ-1 Predator's sensors and targeting capabilities. This contract comes at a time when the USAF is proposing...
Posted by Darren

$68.2M to Develop Next-Generation Predator UAV

'General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems of San Diego, CA received a $68.2 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract to provide for the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) of the MQ-9 Hunter-Killer Aircraft. The MQ-9 is the next generation of the MQ-1 Predator, whose military...
Posted by Darren

March 30, 2005

Jet-powered Kingfisher II intended to challenge Fire Scout for LCS support role

'Vought Aircraft Industries is studying the feasibility of launching its first all-new aircraft in decades, proposing a seaplane unmanned air vehicle concept to the US Navy called the Kingfisher II. Vought seeks to enter the UAV market with a...
Posted by Darren

MQ-1 Predator crashes in Iraq

'An Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle crashed about 10 p.m. EST on March 26 in the vicinity of Balad, Iraq. The aircraft was assigned to the 15th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. It...
Posted by Darren

March 29, 2005

BIG BOOST FOR UAV PREDATOR FLEET

'The U.S. Air Force is looking to expand its fleet of flying drones, big time. Right now, the service has three active squadrons of Predator unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. But that could expand to 15 squadrons of the...
Posted by Darren

Cyber Defense Systems Supports US Naval COASTS System

'Proxity has announced that operating subsidiary Cyber Defense Systems has entered an agreement with the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). Cyber Defense Systems will transfer two CyberBug UAVs to the NPS in support of the Coalition Operating Area Surveillance...
Posted by Darren

March 28, 2005

TAG UAV Helicopter Featured in CBS Network Hit Series “CSI New York”

'In another first for UAV’s and for Tactical Aerospace Group (TAG), this week’s episode of the hit CBS network series, CSI:NY featured a supporting cast member in the form of a TAG UAV helicopter. The one hour feature episode...
Posted by Darren

Unmanned US aircraft crashes north of Baghdad

'A US drone crashed north of Baghdad Sunday, the US military said, without specifying what brought it down. “An Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle crashed about 6 am (0300 GMT) March 27, in the vicinity of Balad,...
Posted by Darren

March 23, 2005

Solar-Powered Blimp Could Fly For A Year

'U.S. researchers are developing a high-altitude, helium-filled aircraft that could hover over the same spot for up to a year. Researchers at Purdue University said the blimp, which uses solar cells for power, could have applications in surveillance, homeland...
Posted by Darren

Wrist video display for overhead UAV real-time video feeds

'Last Summer, the Israeli company Tadiran Spectalink revealed one of the more successful information tools used in recent Israeli counter-terrorist operations. The system, called V-Rambo (Video Receiver And Monitor for Battlefield Operations), is a 3x3 inch color video screen,...
Posted by Darren

Vought gains federal deal for seagoing aerial vehicle

'Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. received a federal contract valued at $497,000 to investigate the feasibility of a seagoing, unmanned aerial vehicle that could take off and land on water, the Dallas company said Tuesday. Under the contract from the...
Posted by Darren

March 22, 2005

Schiebel next-generation UAV Camcopter

'Looking for all the world like a flying shark, Schiebel's next-generation Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Camcopter S-100 was shown for the first time at the recent International Defence Expo. The Camcopter S-100 is a medium -range, medium endurance VTOL...
Posted by Darren

Company unveils latest unmanned aerial vehicle - Hunter II

'If Northrop Grumman's latest extended range medium altitutde unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Hunter II, gets the nod from the Army, this city will share in the winner's purse. An Army contract for the UAV's use over battlefields could...
Posted by Darren

March 21, 2005

A FLYING CRIME FIGHTER

'Chang Industry's portable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is made of foldable graphite composite poles and parachute cloth, will carry video surveillance cameras that wirelessly transmit at 30 frames per second. The California-based Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will...
Posted by Darren

Proxity Sub Plans Jet Powered CyberScout

'Proxity has announced its operating subsidiary Cyber Defense Systems is preparing the next generation of UAVs. The current CyberScout prototype has evolved into a proven vehicle capable of running on gas while carrying a one-pound payload. The engineering team...
Posted by Darren

Chinese UAVs Respect Age

'Chinese UAV designs are a decade or more behind the West. The most common one used is the AN-105, a 374 pound aircraft with a payload if 88 pounds. Each UAV units has six of these, and half a...
Posted by Darren

March 20, 2005

Northrop Grumman to Team With Australian Defense Industries

'Northrop Grumman Corporation today announced that it would team with leading Australian companies to develop an Australian ground system to integrate with the company's Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Carl Johnson, vice president of Northrop Grumman's...
Posted by Darren

Navigating a UAV under remote control and manual control with three dimensional flight depiction

'Navigating a UAV including receiving in a remote control device a user's selection of a GUI map pixel that represents a waypoint for UAV navigation, mapping the pixel's location on the GUI to Earth coordinates of the waypoint, transmitting...
Posted by Darren

March 19, 2005

Indian Springs will host drone projects

'The Indian Springs Auxiliary Field will serve as the center for the coordination and tactics development for the military's unmanned aerial vehicles, military officials announced Wednesday. Already the home to the Air Force's MQ-1 Predator, the facility 45 miles...
Posted by Darren

Predator fleet to expand

'Air Force officials plan to expand the current Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle fleet to as many as 15 squadrons. This increase, announced March 18, is in response to the escalating demand for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability in the...
Posted by Darren

Northrop Grumman Names Australian Bid Partners

'Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems Sector, San Diego, Calif., named at the Australian International Air Show here this week its Australian partners in a bid to win a 1 billon Australian dollar ($792.9 million) contract for maritime patrol unmanned air...
Posted by Darren

Raven RQ-11A UAV

The Strategy Page has good information on the Raven (RQ-11A) UAV - 'The U.S. Army has been extremely successful with a new, four pound, reconnaissance aircraft. Ordered twenty months ago, and entering service in late 2003, the Raven (RQ-11A)...
Posted by Darren

March 18, 2005

Air Force selects New York to run Predator squadron

'Governor Pataki says the Air Force plans to enlist the New York Air National Guard to operate one of its unmanned aerial vehicle squadrons. It's part of an Air Force initiative that could expand the Predator program to as...
Posted by Darren

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): An Assessment of Historical Operations and Future Possibilities

'UAVs are not new; they have a long history in aviation. Pilotless aircraft, whether as aerial targets or for more belligerent purposes, have a history stretching back to the First World War. The annual Jane's All the World's Aircraft...
Posted by Darren

NASA - New Software Allows UAVs To Team Up For Virtual Experiments

'The old saying, “birds of a feather, flock together,” can be applied to two small uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs) flown in a NASA research experiment. The experiment uses principles derived from studies of fish and bird motions to simultaneously...
Posted by Darren

March 17, 2005

U.S. Army awards AAI Corp. a third UAV contract

'AAI Corp. (Hunt Valley, Md.), a subsidiary of United Industrial Corp., has received its third consecutive full-rate production contract, valued at $71.9 million (USD), from the U.S. Army for Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) systems. The contract exercises...
Posted by Darren

March 16, 2005

Dick Tracy Tech for UAVs: The V-RAMBO

'Tadiran Spectralink Ltd. of Cholon, Israel, who make the communications systems for the battle-proven Pioneer UAV, have developed a new way for the soldier in the field to receive UAV pictures and data: the wrist-mounted Video Receiver And Monitor...
Posted by Darren

AvalonRF Debuts its Lightweight mobile Multidirectional Antenna Receiver with TAGs New Aerial UAV Helicopter Close Surveillance Capabilities at the 77th Oscars

AvalonRF Debuts its TA08 Lightweight mobile Multidirectional receiver with TAGs New Aerial UAV Helicopter Close Surveillance Capabilities at the 77th Oscars. Avalon anticipates that most Police and Fire departments will have such easy deployable UAV Helicopters with these simple...
Posted by Darren

General Atomics To Unveil New Predator UAV This Year

'The maker of the U.S. military’s Predator family of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is preparing to roll out a new variant of the airplane, potentially raising the competitive pressure in the business. The next generation of the series —...
Posted by Darren

March 15, 2005

Unmanned jet used in mock bomb drop

'Northrop Grumman used Scaled Composite's Proteus jet to drop a 500-pound dummy bomb in a test for a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft. The test, done Feb. 24 over Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, is the latest in a...
Posted by Darren

Tiny drone for coastal watch

'A TINY pilotless plane will join the hunt for illegal activity in the Torres Strait by mid-year, as Customs evaluates the future of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in its surveillance arsenal. The UAV will work in conjunction with Customs's...
Posted by Darren

Tiny UAVs Making a Big Difference

'The U.S. Army has struck gold with a four pound reconnaissance aircraft. Ordered twenty months ago, and entering service in late 2003, the Raven (RQ-11A) first went to Afghanistan, where infantry and Special Forces troops found the aircraft very...
Posted by Darren

DARPA's Attack UAV Concept Advancing

'The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) gained confidence in its concept for new unmanned combat aircraft during testing that wrapped up last month, according to the agency official who manages the effort. DARPA also recently established a...
Posted by Darren

Batcam helps Airmen Fight The War On Terror

'The Battlefield Air Targeting Camera Autonomous Micro-Air Vehicle, or BATCAM (pictured), is an unmanned aerial vehicle that is five times smaller and 10 times lighter than the current model in the combat controller's kit.' Read more at Science, Technology...
Posted by Darren

ScanEagle UAV Demonstrates New Software; Prepares for Joint Military Demonstration

' Boeing [NYSE:BA] and The Insitu Group recently demonstrated new autonomy software aboard ScanEagle, a long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The software, imbedded in ScanEagle’s auxiliary processor board, allowed the UAV to autonomously map its route while in flight...
Posted by Darren

Northrop Grumman To Team With Australian Defense Industries

'Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) today announced that it would team with leading Australian companies to develop an Australian ground system to integrate with the company's Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Carl Johnson, vice president of Northrop...
Posted by Darren

March 14, 2005

KOLBE URGES REINSTATEMENT OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA

'Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, sent a letter today to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asking that the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) program be reinstated. A copy of the letter is...
Posted by Darren

March 13, 2005

Dropping bombs from UAVs

'Northrop Grumman has demonstrated that it can release a weapon from a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrator during flight-testing conducted in February over Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The drop of the 500-pound inert weapon was...
Posted by Darren

Israel Pitch its Mini Unmanned Aerial Vechicles (UAV's) to the India Defence Forces

Bangalore Aero Show, 2005. Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) revealed its advanced micro UAV, called Mosquito, and the Bird 400 mini UAV in its continued and active engagement in India Taking a close range position to the Russian pavilion were...
Posted by Darren

SAIC Demonstrates Live-Fire From Vigilante VTOL UAV

'Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has announced the successful live-fire of four 2.75“ unguided rockets from its Vigilante VTOL UAV (Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) system during flight testing conducted at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground....
Posted by Darren

Israel Showcases Latest Ultra High-Tech Military Inventions

'Israel on Wednesday paraded its latest high-tech military inventions at a Tel Aviv weapons fair, wowing the crowds with James Bond-style gadgets nicknamed “Eye Ball”, “Mosquito (pictured) and ”FireBall“. Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) proudly presented its new 120/121mm smart...
Posted by Darren

The BAT 3 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

'The MLB Bat is a small, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that has capabilities typically found only in much larger and more expensive UAVs. The Bat is a complete UAV system that can operate autonomously, deliver high quality video imagery,...
Posted by Darren

Company unveils Hunter II, works to get Army contract for long-range UAV

'If Northrop Grumman's Hunter II is successful in obtaining an Army contract to provide extended range unmanned aerial vehicle coverage over battlefields, Sierra Vista will share the winner's purse, company officials said Friday. With a current work force of...
Posted by Darren

March 11, 2005

Iraqi Man Finds and Returns UAV from Backyard

'This week, an Iraqi man found and returned an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that crashed in his backyard. UAVs typically give ground troops information and pictures from the sky of the ground below. The Iraqi man was threatened by...
Posted by Darren

Air Force boss foresees UAV program at Indian Springs

'Enlisted personnel at Nellis Air Force Base call him the boss, and if their four-star leader gets what he wants, the Indian Springs Auxiliary Air Force Field might one day become headquarters for all military unmanned aerial vehicles programs....
Posted by Darren

March 07, 2005

Honeywell Begins Flight Tests Of New 13-Inch UAV

'Honeywell announced last Thursday that it has begun flight testing a new 13-inch autonomous surveillance aircraft that a foot soldier can carry on his back. “The flight tests are demonstrating that this aircraft performs as designed and will provide...
Posted by Darren

Northrop Grumman Demonstrates Weapons Drop From New Medium-Altitude UAV

'Northrop Grumman successfully demonstrated the ability to release a weapon from a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrator during flight-testing conducted Feb. 24 over Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The drop of the 500-pound inert weapon from...
Posted by Darren

March 04, 2005

UAVs at Paris Air Show

'SIAE, the organisers of the Paris Air Show, and Blyenburgh & Co (on behalf of UVS International), have signed apartnership agreement to jointly promote unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems at the upcoming Paris Air Show (13-19 June 2005).' Read...
Posted by Darren

New UAV Helicopter Provides Surveillance Support During Academy Awards

'In support of joint security operations provided by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Tactical Aerospace Group (TAG) was on site at the 77th Academy Awards with a UAV helicopter to...
Posted by Darren

Winds of Change.NET: Robots in the Sky: UAVs Taking Off

'The MQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) received its certification of Initial Operating Capability on March 1. The declaration indicates that the Predator has completed its testing and reached certain capability and supportability thresholds, and has become more than...
Posted by Darren

March 02, 2005

Israel, India agree to develop 3 new UAVs

'Israel and India have signed an agreement to develop three models of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), to be produced in India, “Defense News� reports in its latest issue. Senior officials from the Israel and Indian Ministries of Defense signed...
Posted by Darren