Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

More Shadow UAVs over Iraq

'AAI Corporation, the defence subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation, has received $129 million from the US Army for 12 additional Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) systems. The additional 12 systems, which include 48 advanced RQ-7B air vehicles, 24...

'CyberBug,' can drop in and quietly gather intelligence

'A U.S. company has begun marketing a stealth micro-unmanned aerial vehicle that can blend in with its surroundings. The micro-UAV, dubbed CyberBug, weighs less than a kilogram and was designed for both military and security surveillance. The battery-powered UAV...

Japan Plans First Spy Plane To Watch North Korea

'Japan plans to introduce unmanned spy aircraft to watch military bases in North Korea or other countries, letting Tokyo gather such intelligence on its own for the first time, a report said Tuesday. The Defense Agency will tighten its...

AeroVironment Flies World’s First Liquid Hydrogen Powered UAV

At AUVSI Unmanned Systems North America Conference, Baltimore, Md., June 28, 2005 – AeroVironment (AV), a world leader in the development of unmanned High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) aircraft, has successfully completed the world’s first liquid hydrogen powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle...

UK 'Spy in the Sky' Watchkeeper programme announced

'The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) will be a new addition to the future battlespace reardless of whether the US is in the fight or not. Military UAV programs are being approved the world over with the latest being a...

Boeing Awards Multiple Contracts for First Phase of New UAV Program

'Boeing and Science Applications International today awarded four multimillion-dollar contracts to three premier industry partners to participate in the first phase of development for two classes of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The UAVs - a key battlespace asset and...

EDA Briefs Industry on Technology Demonstration Studies for Long-Endurance UAVS

'The European Defence Agency has briefed more than 50 European industrial companies on two critical technology areas for long-endurance Unmanned Air Vehicles (LE-UAVs) for which it intends to contract initial technology demonstration studies by the end of the year....

Competition sizzles in NM to commercialize unmanned aerial vehicles

'Home to the alleged 1947 alien crash in Roswell, New Mexico is becoming a hotbed for the development and testing of one of the newest innovations in aerospace technology, unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. Experts say UAVs, which can...

Firescout RQ-8 UAV Fires Missile

'Northrop Grumman Corporation's RQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned air vehicle (UAV) reached another important milestone July 22 when the UAV successfully fired two test rockets. This is the first successful live weapons fire from an autonomous unmanned helicopter. This event...

Northrop Grumman's Fire Scout UAV Successfully Fires Test Rockets

Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) RQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned air vehicle (UAV) reached another important milestone July 22 when the UAV successfully fired two test rockets. This is the first successful live weapons fire from an autonomous unmanned helicopter. This event...

UK Gives $1.23B Green Light to Watchkeeper UAV

'Britain has given the green light to the Watchkeeper Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Program. The contract with Thales UK will be worth around GBP 700 million ($1.23 billion), and is expected to create or sustain up to 2000 high-quality manufacturing...

UH readies first autonomous undersea robot

University of Hawaii mechanical engineers and students are close to completing the country's first autonomous robotic vehicle for deep-ocean work. University of Hawaii A sensor failed to work, causing a glitch in the performance of the group's Semi-Autonomous Underwater Vehicle...

Japan Launches UAV Program

'Japan has started its own unmanned aerial vehicle development program and aims to produce two prototypes by fiscal 2012 for $200 million. The UAVs would replace importation of U.S.-made UAVs. The plan will ignite debate in Parliament about whether...

Air Force testifies in support of UAVs at Grand Forks

'Air Force officials reiterated their commitment to bringing unmanned aerial vehicles to the Grand Forks Air Force Base in testimony today before the federal Base Closure and Realignment Commission. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Michael Moseley told the...

US to Deploy Upgraded Spy Planes The Korea Times : US to Deploy Upgraded Spy Planes

'The United States Forces Korea (USFK) will deploy a state-of-the-art unmanned aerial system in South Korea as part of efforts to upgrade its air surveillance and reconnaissance capability on North Korea, a senior U.S. military officer said. Brig. Gen....

Israeli Origin UAV Completes Test Flights

'An Israeli-origin unmanned aerial vehicle has completed a series of tests for the U.S. Army. The Hunter-2 demonstrator was said to have successfully completed a series of ground and flight tests as part of the U.S. Army's Extended Range/Multi-Purpose...

British Government Approves 700-Mln-Pound Drones Deal For Thales

'Britain on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to a 700-million-pound (1.0-million-euro, 1.2-billion-dollar) deal with French defence group Thales for unmanned planes known as drones, potentially creating hundreds of jobs. Defence secretary John Reid said he had given the green light...

No plans to send Hunter UAVs to South Korea, Army officials say

'The United States has no plans to deploy the Hunter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to South Korea, according to 8th Army officials. Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Martz, 2nd Infantry Division assistant division commander (maneuver), was quoted in the Korea Times...

Northrop Grumman Opens Integration Lab to Test and Refine Fire Scout UAV

'On July 19, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) opened its new System Integration Laboratory for the U.S. Army's RQ-8B Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing unmanned air vehicle (UAV). The laboratory provides a place for the Fire Scout team to...

Thales wins £700M contract for UK Watchkeeper UAV program

John Reid, Defence Secretary said: "Watchkeeper is the key to battlefield surveillance of the future. The new UAVs will be able to stay in the air for much longer than conventional aircraft, and will provide all-weather coverage by day and...

Indian Air Force inducts Lakshya - Indigenous UAV

'India's indigenously developed first pilotless target aircraft Lakshya was inducted into the IAF squadron on Friday. Nine indigenously upgraded twin-seater deep penetration strike aircraft Jaguar were also handed over to the IAF by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee at a...

Army UAV Center of Excellence to be at Rucker

'The U.S. Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., has been designated as the new Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Center of Excellence. A Joint UAV Center of Excellence was also announced July 8 by the Defense Department and it...

newsBoeing ScanEagle UAV to Achieve European Air Show First

The Boeing ScanEagle will become the first fixed wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to fly at a European public air show, when it takes to the skies at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at RAF Fairford, July 16...

Boeing Awarded $175M Contract for Continuing X-45C UAV Work

'The Boeing Company says that its McDonnell Douglas unit in St Louis, Missouri was awarded a $175 million contract from DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, for continuing work on X-45C, the unmanned aircraft program. The award will...

Fire Scout UAV Information and Pictures

gizmag has a great post on the Fire Scout UAV with some great pictures of the Fire Scout : 'The most advanced vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) tactical unmanned air vehicle (UAV) in the World is the Northrop Grumman...

UAV competition attracts 13 colleges, universities

'The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and the Program Executive Office for Strike Weapons and Unmanned Aviation, hosted the 3rd annual student competition for unmanned aerial vehicles July 2, at the Patuxent River, Webster Field Annex. The event...

Global Hawk Unmanned System Reaches 7,000th Flight Hour While Supporting War on Terrorism

The Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)-built prototype of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system reached its 7,000th total flight hour on June 22 during a combat mission supporting the global war on terrorism. The U.S. Air Force's fleet...

South Korea to Purchase US Spy Aircraft

'The Defense Ministry has officially requested the United States sell its high-altitude, long-range surveillance aircraft as part of its mid to long-term arms acquisition plan, ministry officials said Tuesday. The request was made at a subpanel session of an...

Commander named for Predator group

'Army Brig. Gen. Walter L. Davis has been named commander of the Joint Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Center of Excellence at the newly dubbed Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs. The Defense Department announced the assignment Monday. Creech Air...

Pilotless planes might help fight wildfires

'Federal scientists have tested them over Mount St. Helens. The Department of Homeland Security has used them to inspect the Alaskan oil pipeline. The Coast Guard wants to use them for maritime enforcement and the Border Patrol to guard...

SkyLite - Mini UAV System

'SkyLite is a man portable, canister launched mini UAV system for the deployed ranks. The system is carried by a team of two soldiers. One carries two UAVs and the other carries the ground station and the landing net....

Joint Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Team, Center of Excellence Announced

The first organization is a Joint UAV Overarching Integrated Product Team ( OIPT ) will provide a forum to identify and resolve materiel issues and seek solutions common to all the military Services. The OIPT will concentrate on improving...

Lockheed unveils hybrid cruise missile/UAV plans

Lockheed Martin has unveiled plans to demonstrate a “persistent surveillance” hybrid cruise missile/unmanned air vehicle next year. Named Top Cover, the air-launched, forward-swept-wing design will have an endurance of over 24h at altitudes around 5,000ft (1,500m) and is intended to...

Cellular Antennas Go Airborne

The latest enhancement in cellular technology may be right over our heads. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a cellular antenna is being used to send wireless signals to handset units or laptops wherever they may be. Testing is...

Joint Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Team, Center of Excellence Announced

News Release: The Department of Defense announces today the establishment of two organizations to coordinate the development and use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities. The first organization is a Joint UAV Overarching Integrated Product Team (OIPT) will provide...

NASA is considering getting a UAV

'NASA wants a robot plane, also known as an unmanned aerial vehicle, for the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Space.com reports that the UAV would be useful for operations around the huge spaceport. NASA's requirements include that the vehicle...

US Air Force eyes ScanEagle for convoy protection

'The US Air Force is evaluating the Boeing/Insitu ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for use in convoy protection in Iraq and could field the system there in that role before the end of 2005, according to air force and...

Boeing ScanEagle UAV Completes Sea Trials Aboard U.S. Navy Ship

'ScanEagle, a long-endurance fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Boeing [NYSE:BA] and The Insitu Group, successfully completed sea trials aboard the USS Cleveland as part of the U.S. Navy-sponsored 2005 Joint Task Force Exercise The two week...

Where Do UAVs Go From Here?

Within 10 years, one-third of US ... deep strike aircraft will be unmanned,” said Congress’ 2001 defense bill. This claim, while shocking at the time, seems much less so in retrospect. Indeed, unmanned aerial vehicles, in general, have advanced further...

AeroVironment Flies World’s First Liquid Hydrogen Powered UAV

AeroVironment (AV), a world leader in the development of unmanned High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) aircraft, has successfully completed the world’s first liquid hydrogen powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flight tests. The fifty-foot wingspan prototype aircraft accomplished a major milestone in AV’s...