May 10, 2006
'The newly activated Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training Battalion (provisional) assumed responsibility for training operators and maintainers of the Army’s unmanned aerial systems last month at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. The ceremony marked the transfer of the training mission from the...
May 09, 2006
'An unmanned aerial vehicle ordered by the Hellenic Army has completed a successful test flight. The Sperwer tactical UAV recently conducted a successful test flight by Sagem Defense Security, now part of the Safran Group. The test took place...
'Battery Ventures today announced they have led a $23 million Series C investment in The Insitu Group, Inc., designer and manufacturer of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR). Other previous investors participated in this round,...
May 08, 2006
'It may sound like science fiction, but the prospect that suicide bombers and hijackers could be made redundant by flying robots is a real one, according to experts. The technology for remote-controlled light aircraft is now highly advanced, widely...
May 06, 2006
Kaman Aerospace Corporation reported that on April 28 its new-generation full-scale Vertical Takeoff Unmanned Aerial System (VT-UAS) showed unprecedented mission endurance, completing a 12-hour and 17-minute simulated mission without refueling. Kaman believes this is the first time a full-scale...
'The worth of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been known for decades, with Israel leading the way in both reconnaissance UAVs and combat UAVs (UCAVS). The increased tempo of US combat operations using UAVs, particularly their continued use in...
May 05, 2006
'Aerial drones are most commonly associated in Arizona with the military and Border Patrol operations, but some of the unmanned vehicles produced in the state are also being put to civilian uses. Tucson drone-maker Advanced Ceramics Research produces a...
May 04, 2006
'Eighteen Midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy will travel to Nevada May 7-11 to compare and test Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) designs with their West Point and Air Force Academy counterparts. The Midshipmen are students in the Aerospace Engineering...
'Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Global Hawk unmanned aerial system has shown its utility as a persistent counter-drug surveillance asset in Congressionally Directed Demonstration flights over the southern U.S., along the Gulf of Mexico and into the Caribbean Sea. Global...
'The Allied Defense Group, Inc. (Amex: ADG) announces its Global Microwave Systems (GMS) subsidiary has successfully completed the industry's first successful unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight demonstration of a High-Definition (HD) video wireless link. The demonstration was held on...
'Calls On Gov't To Remove TFR While UAVs Are Grounded Stating that an accident Tuesday involving a US Customs and Border Patrol Predator B UAV reinforces their position that UAVs must meet manned aircraft safety standards, the Aircraft Owners...
May 03, 2006
'Finmeccanica’s Alenia Aeronautica and Italian aerospace research centre CIRA have signed a three-year co-operation agreement to develop unmanned air vehicle control systems, mission management software and advanced materials and draw up joint technology development plans.' Read more at Alenia...
'he bad guys can use drones too. While billions have been spent on ballistic missile defense, little attention has been given to the more imminent threat posed by unmanned air vehicles in the hands of terrorists or rogue states....
'The Dutch defence ministry has purchased five Aladin mini unmanned air vehicle systems from German manufacturer EMT to support its deployed personnel in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province. The hand-launched UAV weighs roughly 3kg (6.6lb), has a 1.5m (4.9ft) wingspan, a...
'A newly established joint venture company plans to demonstrate a new mini unmanned air vehicle to the Malaysian army in July. Three Malaysian companies – Composite Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM), Ikramatic and Systems Consultancy Services (SCS) – are jointly...
April 30, 2006
'Many European nations have contributed troops to help out in Iraq and Afghanistan, and, like the United States, they are using the opportunity to try out new weapons and equipment. The Netherlands, for example, is sending German made Aladin...
April 29, 2006
'Unmanned aerial vehicle went down 10 miles north of Nogales The crash and destruction of a $6.5 million unmanned aerial vehicle on Tuesday morning 10 miles north of Nogales remains a mystery but is under investigation. Michael Friel, director...
'US Army will combine UAVs and UGVs (umanned ground vehicles) together at Ft Benning in 2007 to run first ever tests of a combined robotic assault. The tests will use Yamaha R-Max UAVs as the UAV elements, together with...
April 26, 2006
'News 4 has learned that an un-manned air vehicle belonging to the Border Patrol has gone down. An agent says it happened between midnight and 6 Tuesday morning while it was patrolling the Arizona/Mexico border. It crashed on Morning...
'Sydney, Australia: About 130 military, government and industry representatives began a two-day conference sessions here, part of the Asia pacific UAV conference and exhibition designed to probe the state of UAS developments across he region. Sessions are ranging widely,...
April 24, 2006
'Arotech (Nasdaq: ARTX) announced last week that its Electric Fuel subsidiary was awarded a development contract to develop a high energy density rechargeable lithium battery and smart charger from a supplier of Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs). The supplier was...
'Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works is believed to be developing a high-altitude, stealthy unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the US Air Force (USAF) under a secret programme, funded with money taken from the terminated Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS)...
April 23, 2006
'The US military has tested a system that helps soldiers to move faster and further into enemy territory while maintaining contact with their commanders via a UAV-enabled communications network. The system, developed by Northrop Grumman and the US Office...
'High-altitude airships could provide a host of surveillance and intelligence advantages. But policy makers have yet to put serious resources behind the concept. Still, some companies have jumped into the market on their own with early research and development....
'Boeing [NYSE: BA] has demonstrated for the first time the ability of an AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter to control an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) weapon payload. Boeing demonstrated the capability in February at its Mesa, Ariz., facility, home of...
'The unmanned aerial vehicle that is supposed to replace the U-2 spy plane when it is retired next year is over budget and behind schedule, and the acquisition program is being restructured for the fourth time, according to government...
'Twenty-five of the USA’s major weapons programmes have experienced “critical” cost growth, although few, if any, face the risk of cancellation. But the US Department of Defense will have to justify continuing the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned...
'Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) today opened its Unmanned Systems Center production facility in Moss Point, Miss., where the MQ-8B Fire Scout, and portions of the RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be produced. The facility signifies Northrop...
'They called it the launch of Mississippi's recovery. State and federal officials at Tuesday's ribbon-cutting ceremonies for Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems Center called its official opening an indication that the Mississippi Coast is making a comeback from Hurricane Katrina....
'Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) today opened its Unmanned Systems Center production facility in Moss Point, Miss., where the MQ-8B Fire Scout, and portions of the RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be produced. The facility signifies Northrop...
April 22, 2006
'State and federal officials at Tuesday's ribbon-cutting ceremonies for Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems Center called its official opening an indication that the Mississippi Coast is making a comeback from Hurricane Katrina. They also predicted the center would draw more...
'To counter China's rapidly strengthening submarine fleet, the United States should spur a revolution in undersea warfare by focusing greater attention and resources on developing advanced unmanned underwater vehicles, a top naval analyst said Tuesday. Such a move could...
April 21, 2006
'These days, drones are often associated with military surveillance missions. But autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (AUAVs) can also be used for more peaceful tasks, such as tracking pollution in South Asia. With funds from the National Science Foundation (NSF),...
April 20, 2006
'The United States needs to invest in unmanned subs that could neutralize Chinese ones, a top naval analyst says. To counter China's rapidly strengthening submarine fleet, the United States should spur a revolution in undersea warfare by focusing greater...
April 14, 2006
'A single control system developed by Raytheon has successfully controlled simultaneously unmanned aerial vehicles and an unmanned surface vehicle. The Multiple Vehicle Control System (MVCS) is aimed at eventually placing multiple unmanned assets under the control of a single...
'Nigeria is developing a national coastal defence alignment based mainly on unmanned platforms, Jane's has learned. Under a USD260 million contract signed in March, Israeli Aeronautics Defense Systems will design and build the naval array, providing manned and unmanned...
'At least 20 different types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are currently being developed by the U.S. military. Each program may be fine individually, but in sum might some of them represent a duplication of effort? At a hearing...
'The capabilities and importance of Predator UAVs are becoming clearer with each day the unmanned vehicles are deployed on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan. From intelligence gathering, to eradication of insurgent forces, the Air Force wants its...
'The first Malaysian made prototype of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is expected to be ready in three months time, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. "In three months time we will have a full scale...
'Calling for a better method of approving unmanned aircraft operations in civil airspace, manufacturers have warned US Congress that delays in Federal Aviation Administration certification are affecting testing and training. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) cannot fly the first...
'Chile may buy what could become a family of unmanned air vehicles encompassing hand-launched close-range, short-range tactical and endurance tactical systems. The Chilean armed forces are assessing the potential of a joint programme, although immediate requirements have been identified...
The N-1, an RQ-4A Global Hawk -- one of two acquired by the U.S. Navy through the Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration Program -- is the first of its kind delivered to the Navy, and is being prepared for participation...
'When San Diego aerospace engineer Alfredo Ramirez sketched his first design for the Global Hawk more than a decade ago, he wanted to create a robotic spy plane that could fly above harm's way at altitudes above 60,000 feet....
March 31, 2006
'A potential terrorist slips across the U.S. border under the cover of darkness. Unchallenged, he disappears into the night - or so he thinks. Unknown to this intruder, he's been detected all along - from 20,000 feet. And now,...
'Having demonstrated their abilities in combat on the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan, it's little wonder why unmanned aerial vehicles are being looked at for a variety of roles over US soil. That could prove to be a blessing......
March 30, 2006
'Piloted remotely from a Nevada air base half a world away or by soldiers on the scene, unmanned aircraft have become so indispensable in Iraq and in the war on terror that by next year the U.S. could be...
'Unmanned aerial vehicles have soared the skies of Afghanistan and Iraq for years, spotting enemy encampments, protecting military bases, and even launching missile attacks against suspected terrorists. Now UAVs may be landing in the United States. A House of...
An MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle engaged three anti-Iraqi forces in the process of placing an improvised explosive device along a road near Balad Air Base yesterday evening. The Predator launched an AGM-114 Hellfire missile against the group. The...
'Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), in conjunction with the Office of Naval Research, successfully demonstrated the ability to extend communications range and capability using the RQ-8A Fire Scout vertical take-off and landing tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV). Northrop Grumman's RQ-8A...
'The U.S. Navy's first Global Hawk unmanned air system (UAS), N-1, an RQ-4A (BuNo 166509), arrived today at its new home at Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland. The vehicle is one of two RQ-4A aircraft which the Navy...
'Students are invited to submit their ideas for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) suitable for exploring Mars – the best designs will win a place at the Euroavia Design Workshop to be held at the Erasmus User Centre in...
March 29, 2006
'Piloted remotely from a Nevada air base half a world away or by soldiers on the scene, unmanned aircraft have become so indispensable in Iraq and in the war on terror that by next year the U.S. could be...
'Geneva Aerospace successfully completed six consecutive auto landings of a Dakota UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) at the United States Army Yuma Proving Grounds in Yuma, Arizona. This flight test was the next phase under Geneva's current contract with the...
'An unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) used by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) for surveillance and reconnaissance missions crashed down colliding against the television antenna in a private house Tuesday morning at about 10.15 in Poonthodam Maharambaikulam, in Vauniya. The...
'The United States' spending on unmanned aircraft could rise to seven times as much as pre-September 11 levels by next year. Spending on the planes is expected to total at least $12 billion over the next five years, up...
March 28, 2006
'Northrop Grumman has demonstrated its private-venture Killer Bee low-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air vehicle for the US Air Force, as industry awaits a US Marine Corps request for proposals for a divisional/regimental unmanned aircraft system to enter service in 2010....
'Texas-based Geneva Aerospace is in discussions with the US Navy about turning its unmanned air vehicle shipboard landing technology research programme into a funded concept demonstration. The current programme, run under a US small business innovation research grant, will...
'An unmanned Little Bird helicopter could fly nap-of-the-earth autonomously using software-enabled control (SEC) technology developed for unmanned air vehicles under a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and US Air Force Research Laboratory project, says Boeing. The software...
The U.S. unmanned aerial systems (UAS) market has had considerable momentum due to recent operational successes and increasing mission roles. In addition, UAS market penetration in all four military services and the commercial sectors in surveillance and weaponized capabilities...
Check out this new manual (PDF) on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS - or UAVs) that the US Army has released. it covers all the latest on their UAV/UAS operations....
'In Europe, several robotic warplanes ( the Neuron, the Barrakuda and the Corax) are under development. These UACV (Unmanned Aerial Combat Vehicles) concepts began in the Untied States, but Europe wants to remain competitive with the U.S. military aircraft...
March 27, 2006
'Turkey will sell multi purpose unmanned aerial vehicles and high technology products. In accordance with the demand of Italy and the United Arabic Emirates, the producer of the unmanned aerial vehicles, Global Technical Joint Stock Company, started production works...
'QinetiQ, Europe's largest science and technology organization, has completed the first flight trials of Zephyr - a High-Altitude, Long-Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that has a 12 meter (39 ft) wingspan but weighs just 27 kilograms (59 pounds). The...
'By the end of this month, U.S. Border Patrol officials plan to monitor a larger area of the southwest border with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which has been in use since September 2005. They plan to add a...
March 26, 2006
'The Air Force recently completed a vision document to provide high-level guidance to service development and integration of unmanned aircraft for the next 25 years. While the Air Force has been experimenting with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles since 1962, the...
March 25, 2006
'The U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force are both looking to buy the same new UAV from Predator manufacturer General Atomics. As a result of that joint interest, the two services are looking for ways to save money by...
'We hear a lot about Unmanned Aerial vehicles from the size of a butterfly to a full blown jet, and unmanned ground vehicles have been getting their share of the limelight recently too. So it figures that Unmanned Underwater...
'The Air Force recently completed a vision document to provide high-level guidance to service development and integration of unmanned aircraft for the next 25 years. While the Air Force has been experimenting with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles since 1962, the...
March 24, 2006
'The arrival of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) at Grand Forks Air Force Base could be just the beginning in a number of financial and academic opportunities for UND and its students. The Red River Valley Research Corridor Action...
March 23, 2006
'Is there a way to ensure robotic fighter planes do not mistake civilians for enemy soldiers and kill innocent people? Is "system malfunction" a justifiable defence for contravening the Geneva Convention? Should robotic sex dolls resembling children be allowed?...
'QinetiQ has completed the first flight trials of Zephyr - a High-Altitude, Long-Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (HALE UAV) that has a 12 metre wingspan but weighs just 27 kilograms. The trials took place at the White Sands Missile Range,...
'The U.S. Air Force is undergoing another shift in leadership, as defined by the type of warplane the generals spent their formative years piloting. After World War II, the bomber pilots monopolized the air force leadership, and heavy bombers...
'It is almost four years since the Indian Navy had acquired Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to boost up surveillance, which is still to deploy them inviting serious censure by the Comptroller and Auditor General. "Twelve UAVs purchased at a...
March 22, 2006
The revolutionary model plane has been developed as part of a £6.2m programme, involving engineers from the University of Leicester, funded jointly by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and BAE Systems. The five-year programme is called FLAVIIR...
'Recent flights of the Spider-Lion fuel-cell-powered unmanned aerial vehicle have shed light on the potential for deploying fuel-cell technologies in the future. Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory designed the Spider-Lion, and while the aircraft itself is not...
'Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works is believed to be developing a high-altitude, stealthy unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the US Air Force (USAF) under a secret programme, funded with money taken from the terminated Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS)...
'An unmanned aerial vehicle crashed this morning in Iraq, and combined operations continued in Salah ah Din province as part of Operation Swarmer. A pilot at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. , was piloting an Air Force MQ-1 Predator...
'Most people are familiar with NOAA’s use of unmanned or autonomous underwater vehicles, but NOAA is also interested in routinely using unmanned aircraft systems to explore and gather data in the atmosphere between satellite and ground-based observing systems. UAS-acquired...
'The barrage of corruption in defence deal continues. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has blasted the defence ministry again for lapses in deals of VVIP executive jets, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and air-to-air missiles. The UPA...
'Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works is believed to be developing a high-altitude, stealthy unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the US Air Force (USAF) under a secret programme, funded with money taken from the terminated Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS)...
March 21, 2006
'UK defence and security technology company Qinetiq is encouraging unmanned air vehicle technology developers to demonstrate systems to potential civil users next month. The demonstrations are for platforms and payloads and their use in non-military roles.' Read more at...
'General Atomics chairman predicts it will not be long before unmanned aircraft will be a familiar sight in civil skies In the not-too-distant future, the name of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) might not be associated just with military...
Aurora Flight Sciences announced today that its GoldenEye-50 unmanned aerial system (UAS) completed its 100th flight during a 22-minute flight at the company's flight test facility earlier this month. Aurora's GoldenEye team is now focused on transforming the aircraft...
March 18, 2006
'The army has plans to procure Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), said army chief Gen. Datuk Seri Abdul Aziz Zainal. Abdul Aziz said the procurement would complete the defence assets of the army. “We' ve yet to own this aircraft....
SONEX RESEARCH, INC., a leader in the field of combustion technology, announced that it has been awarded a follow-on project worth approximately $235,000 to continue development and pre-production qualification of a heavy fuel engine (HFE) conversion process for a...
March 17, 2006
'The US federal government's expenditure investigation body is calling for the suspension of serial production of the Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle and for the programme to be massively reviewed. A report by the US Government...
'Geneva Aerospace Inc., developer of unmanned vehicle technologies, has completed six consecutive auto landings of a Dakota UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds in Yuma, Ariz. The flight test was the next phase under...
March 16, 2006
'Monrovia, California-based AeroVironment announced today that its Raven Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has surpassed the 3000 vehicle mark in production. The firm's UAV is used by the U.S. Army and Special Forces for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.' Read more at...
'Pakistan is acquiring two types of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles from Europe to enhance surveillance capabilities while continuing with its indegenous development efforts, a defence weekly reported today. The Pakistan army has finalised an order from Germany for the EMT...
'Geneva Aerospace,(R) Inc., a leader in the development of unmanned vehicle technologies, successfully completed six consecutive auto landings of a Dakota UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) at the United States Army Yuma Proving Grounds in Yuma, Arizona. This flight test...
March 15, 2006
'The Pentagon is trying to develop “insect cyborgs” able to sniff out explosives, or “bug” conversations by lurking unseen in enemy hideouts with micro-transmitters strapped to their bodies. The cyborgs - half insect, half robot - would be created...
'After the incredible response to yesterday’s story on weaponised micro unmanned aerial vehicles, it is interesting to note AeroVironment’s significant production milestone of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV) systems that was announced today. The Raven (RQ-11A), a manpackable SUAV...
'Pakistan is acquiring two types of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles from Europe to enhance surveillance capabilities while continuing with its indegenous development efforts, a defence weekly reported today. The Pakistan army has finalised an order from Germany for the EMT...
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has demonstrated its KillerBee low-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the U.S. Air Force, highlighting its ability to provide real-time streaming video and precision targeting information to warfighters. Northrop Grumman demonstrated its KillerBee low-altitude,...
March 14, 2006
'Aeronautics Defense Systems and the Israel Highway Police have employed the Company's Aerostar UAV in a successful experiment to detect and arrest traffic offenders on the highways of Southern Israel. A police patrol pilot joined the Aeronautics Operating Team...
Sonex Research, a leader in the field of combustion technology, announced that it has been awarded a follow-on project worth approximately $235,000 to continue development and pre-production qualification of a heavy fuel engine (HFE) conversion process for a small,...
'Facing problems in its efforts to train insects or build robots that can mimic their flying abilities, the U.S. military now wants to develop 'insect cyborgs' that can go where its soldiers cannot. The Pentagon is seeking applications from...
'UK-based GFS Projects has demonstrated its Coanda-effect unmanned air vehicle to the Ministry of Defence. The 0.91m (3ft)-diameter, 5.45kg (12lb) GFS-6a and smaller -7 prototypes were demonstrated at an indoor flying area in Peterborough. The battery-powered vertical take-off and...
'ndia on Monday test fired a short range, air-to-air missile and an indigenous drone for the second time in less than a week. The testing was done at a military base in Orissa, military sources said. The Lakhya drone,...
'Despite its advanced age, an Israeli-origin unmanned aerial vehicle continues to be used by the U.S. military in Iraq. The Pioneer UAV has been operated by the Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 2 in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion...
March 13, 2006
'Northrop Grumman and the University of California, San Diego have completed a study that will enable the MQ-5B Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to carry additional payloads, increasing its effectiveness in providing communications, intelligence and firepower for the U.S....
March 10, 2006
'Israel reportedly will unveil its biggest-ever unmanned aerial vehicle. Jane’s Defence Weekly reported this week that Eitan, a UAV with a wing-span of 80 feet, will soon be formally introduced into Israel’s air force and navy. With an altitude...
'Northrop Grumman and the University of California, San Diego have completed a study that will enable the MQ-5B Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to carry additional payloads, increasing its effectiveness in providing communications, intelligence and firepower for the U.S....
'The French government has recommended the formal inclusion of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) funding in future defence budgets, adding that the country could terminate its state-funded European medium-altitude long-endurance (EuroMale) project in favour of the Dassault Aviation-led Neuron unmanned...
'Honeywell has doubled the flight endurance, upgraded the sensors and fixed GPS software bugs in its micro air vehicle (MAV) in preparation for a critical design review (CDR) later this month. The ducted-fan vertical take-off and landing MAV is...
'The issue of the overall development of various types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including unmanned helicopters for civilian and military purposes, has been and still is well addressed by the Moscow-based analysts and defense correspondents. However, what has...
'The Canadian Forces is looking to add unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to its arsenal and local companies are already exploring the opportunities despite the fact that any serious buying is still some time away. On the table is the...
March 09, 2006
'The French government has recommended the formal inclusion of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) funding in future defence budgets, adding that the country could terminate its state-funded European medium-altitude long-endurance (EuroMale) project in favour of the Dassault Aviation-led Neuron unmanned...
March 08, 2006
'The Australian government is to consider proposals in the next three months for initial funding of its Project Air 7000 Phase 1 high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) multi-mission maritime unmanned air vehicle requirement. The initial funding approval has been brought forward...
'L-3 Communications (New York, NY) announced on March 6 that the Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL), developed by L-3 Communication Systems-West (Salt Lake City, UT) has been successfully used for command and control of a US Army Hunter unmanned...
March 06, 2006
'The Israeli defence force plans to evaluate five contenders for a platoon-level unmanned air vehicle requirement next month, and will select an “over-the-hill” intelligence system by the end of 2006.' Read more at Israel to test small UAV contenders...
'Aeronautics Defense Systems Ltd. and the Israel Highway Police have employed the Company’s Aerostar UAV in a successful experiment to detect and arrest traffic offenders on the highways of Southern Israel. A police patrol pilot joined the Aeronautics Operating...
'The California company that produces the Predator drone has joined forces with General Dynamics Canada to pitch the American-made UAV to the Canadian military. General Atomics' Aeronautical Systems unit has signed a memorandum of understanding with General Dynamics, Canada's...
'Robert Mitchell, vice president, Special Programmes, Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems flew to London on Wednesday 22 February to present a lecture on Fire Scout UAV developments to an audience at the Royal Aeronautical Society. He had been invited by...
'When unmanned Predator aircraft prowled the skies of Afghanistan using their electric eyes to hunt down al-Qaida operatives, they provided examples of a blossoming technology that probably will become more common in civilian uses. Over about 10 years, unmanned...
'ScanEagle, a long-endurance fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Boeing [NYSE:BA] and The Insitu Group, has surpassed 10,000 combat flight hours in less than two years supporting U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy operations. Since being deployed with...
'The aptly named Pioneer unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will most likely be remembered over the deserts of Iraq during Desert Storm where it proved that the UAV had truly come of age. Today, 20 years, four wars and 40,000...
'Gen. Michael Haugen, North Dakota National Guard commander, said Thursday that an unmanned aerial vehicle mission is coming to Grand Forks Air Force Base regardless of crosswind runway problems reported on this week by the Herald. While it's true...
'Soaring on the seventh month of deployment, the Marines of Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, prepare to return home to Twentynine Palms, Calif., after going above and beyond the...
March 05, 2006
'The U.S. Air Force flew its Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle in Japanese airspace last month, government sources said Saturday. Washington may have wanted to demonstrate the Global Hawk's performance to Tokyo, which plans to introduce the remote-controlled, high-endurance...
March 02, 2006
'After spending $28 million on a new runway this summer, state and Air Force officials are talking about building another runway to accommodate lighter unmanned aerial vehicles scheduled to start arriving in Grand Forks next year. The lack of...
February 22, 2006
'Over about 10 years, unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, have been employed by the military to perform dangerous duties. But other uses -- including homeland security and scientific experiments -- are being explored, along with ways to integrate the...
'Drivers tempted to ignore a no-entry sign or cross a continuous white line in order to overtake another vehicle when the police don't seem to be around may need to be more cautious in the future. This is because...
'The Raspet Flight Research Laboratory at Mississippi State is developing an ultra-light, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle designed to improve U.S. surveillance and communication capabilities for battlefield and border-patrol operations, the university says. Ground tests and initial manned flight-testing of...
'New warplanes like the stealthy F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will continue to play a crucial role in combat despite the emergence of unmanned drones, US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin said Tuesday. The F-35 will undergo its first flight test...
During its overseas deployment, UAV-3 logged more than 4,800 flight hours supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and the Combined Task Force—Horn of Africa. On hand at the homecoming event, were Maj. Gen. Curtis Bedke, commander, Air Force...
February 21, 2006
'Singapore Technologies Aerospace (ST Aero) is expecting to fly a prototype of its FanTail 5000 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the first time in March. A mock-up of the UAV made its first show...
'This is a second real time report from the siege at the Balata refugee camp near Nablus on the West Bank (aka Occupied Palestine) where the IDF has located two major leaders of Al Aqsa in the last hours......
February 20, 2006
'The Pentagon’s push to build up its inventory of unmanned aircraft is fanning a robust emerging market for the defense industry, and Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopter say they plan to be in thick of the action. In a...
'Unmanned aerial vehicles are vital to the Defense Department’s net-centric operations, according to the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review, but the bandwidth essential to supporting them is disappearing. John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, said DOD’s plans for greater use are...
February 18, 2006
'A prototype unmanned surveillance aircraft on duty for four years in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is returning to a California air base next week. The Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle tail number 3 has flown 4,245 hours...
'US military officials gave P50,000 to a Sulu farmer in exchange for the return of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that crashed in Indanan town on Feb. 10. Jolo councilor Temojen Tulawie said the money was handed to the...
'A military intelligence unit will try Sunday to make the first U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle flight over this training area. Company C, 101st Military Intelligence Battalion is at the Vilseck Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) attempting to fly...
'The European Defense Agency (EDA) on Feb. 16 awarded a 750,000 euro ($891,000) contract to a consortium led by Sagem to conduct a study on sense-and-avoid technologies that would allow unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to fly in civil airspace,...
'MUSLIM villagers are holding for ransom a crashed unmanned US drone used in military exercises against the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in the southern Philippine island of Jolo. The remote-controlled spy plane crashed February 10, in the mountain enclave...
Check out this great video of a home made UAV with four rotars and an onboard camera. Very cool....
February 17, 2006
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) concluded a series of flights Jan. 5 that demonstrated the weapons-capable MQ-5B Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle's (UAV) ability to fly more than 21 hours, which is almost a ten-hour increase over the original RQ-5A Hunter...
'Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) plans to bring its showcase aircraft to the Asian Aerospace Expo in Singapore next Tuesday, according to company officials. The company made its final preparations this week for the show, one of the most important...
'The Raspet Flight Research Laboratory at Mississippi State is developing an ultra-light, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle designed to improve U.S. surveillance and communication capabilities for battlefield and border-patrol operations, the university says. Ground tests and initial manned flight-testing of...
February 16, 2006
'DNA analysis of the bodies recovered from the attack on an al Qaeda meeting in Pakistan last month, have confirmed that the main target, al Qaeda number two leader Ayman al Zawahiri, was not there. In the immediate aftermath...
February 15, 2006
'A high-flying prototype “Airman” is heading home after being deployed more than four years and flying 4,245 hours supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and the Combined Task Force-Horn of Africa. Global Hawk Air Vehicle No. 3 began...
'Concepts for innovative new military technologies spanning space, unmanned vehicles, force protection, and urban warfare are due at the Pentagon next week. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is planning to make a series of small awards -- ranging...
February 14, 2006
'Royal Australian Navy interest in a patrol boat-launched and recovered short-range unmanned air vehicle to support maritime and fisheries patrol duties has spurred interest from manufacturers including Aerosonde/Lockheed Martin, Aerovironment and Schiebel. The service is actively studying options to...
'Civic officials in the Sadr City district of Baghdad returned an unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to Multinational Division Baghdad today, officials said. Maj. Gen. Jawad, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, received the aircraft from city...
'The U.S. Air Force has deployed a miniature unmanned aerial vehicle to ensure security for convoys and bases. The system has been used in missions by the 379th Security Forces Squadron to supply U.S. troops in Iraq. Central Command...
'Germany is the latest country to send it's UAVs off to war. Ten KZO UAVs are being sent to Afghanistan with the next contingent of German troops. KZO development began, in 1989, as a joint venture between French and...
'Concepts for innovative new military technologies spanning space, unmanned vehicles, force protection, and urban warfare are due at the Pentagon next week. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is planning to make a series of small awards -- ranging...
February 10, 2006
'A U.S. military official on Thursday said an unmanned aerial vehicle flown by American troops to help Filipino soldiers fight militants has gone missing and appealed to the public for its return. The drone disappeared in November and U.S....
'India on Wednesday tested an advanced version of the home-grown pilot-less plane Lakshya from a defence base in Orissa, officials said here. The unmanned aerial vehicle was test flown at 11.48am from the integrated test range at Chandipur in...
February 09, 2006
'North Dakota officials want the state to be a player in the commercial development of unmanned vehicles. Gov. John Hoeven was among the participants at a workshop Tuesday in Grand Forks to discuss an unmanned aerial vehicle mission at...
Civic officials in the Sadr City district of Baghdad returned an unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to Multinational Division Baghdad today, officials said. Maj. Gen. Jawad, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, received the aircraft from city...
'If it's a dull dirty or dangerous task, unmanned aerial systems can replace piloted aircraft, said an industry expert Tuesday in a UAS workshop held in the Alerus Center. Local and state leaders invited Laurence Newcome, director of unmanned...
February 08, 2006
'The Bush administration has sent Congress a $439.3 billion defense budget for fiscal year 2007 that makes large investments in defense language programs, special operations forces and unmanned air vehicles, which the White House believes are key to waging...
February 07, 2006
'Israel is backtracking on its commitment made to India over “reciprocal procurement” of defence-related items, wavering over the purchase of Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA), 'Lakshya', and Advanced Light Helicopter , 'Dhruv'. “The Indian UAV (Lakshya) was one of the...
'The FAA has temporarily reduced the size of the temporary flight restriction (TFR) along the U.S.-Mexico border. That TFR is in place to protect civilian aircraft from being run over by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) patrolling the border. AOPA...
'India has successfully test-flown an upgraded version of its Lakshya unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV. Scientists from the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization, who developed the Lakshya, launched it Feb. 6 at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur...
February 06, 2006
'The Pentagon is speeding up the development of new weapons designed to knock out targets anywhere in the world in short order. The Defense Department said on Friday it wants to develop a new “land-based, penetrating strike capability” for...
'A Maryland Army National Guard detachment operating the Shadow 200 tactical unmanned aerial vehicle will officially open for business here Feb. 5, with a 2 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new armory located next to Gate 3. The event...
'A UAV based on the tilt rotor V22 has made its first flight. Called the Eagle Eye, this UAV is designed for use from ships. The first customer is the U.S. Coast Guard, which is buying 69 of them,...
'The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Friday unveiled what could become its latest weapon for fighting crime -- a high-tech model plane equipped with a video camera -- and said a SWAT team will begin testing the new...
February 03, 2006
'A UAV based on the tilt rotor V22 has made its first flight. Called the Eagle Eye, this UAV is designed for use from ships. The first customer is the U.S. Coast Guard, which is buying 69 of them,...
February 02, 2006
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp is being awarded a $23,375,521 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-05-C-0040) to exercise an option for the procurement of 60 BQM-74E Aerial Targets, 60 Radar Altimeters, 15 Low Radar Cross Section Nose Cones,...
February 01, 2006
'Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo authorized the joint procurement or lease of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by different civilian and armed agencies to ensure national security, officials said on Tuesday. The procurement initiative was included into the government's program to...
January 31, 2006
'The DoD continues work on its X-45C UAV and has called for an unmanned heavy bomber by 2020 When it comes to the future of military aircraft, unmanned planes seems to be where the United States is heading. The...
'Singapore Technologies Aerospace (ST Aero) has delivered its first production unmanned air vehicle – a short-range, hand-launched reconnaissance aircraft – to the Singaporean army. ST Aero says it delivered the first of four Skyblade II UAVs in late January,...
January 30, 2006
Protonex Technology Corporation, a leading manufacturer of high-performance fuel cell power systems for portable and remote applications, was awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to develop power systems for long- endurance micro unmanned aerial...
'Lockheed Martin Corp., the largest U.S. defense contractor, is providing the University of North Dakota's aerospace school with specialized training and access to an unmanned aerial vehicle, the school says. "We will have an operational UAV available for test...
January 24, 2006
'Yamaha's highly revered RMax UAV may have slipped into the hands of the People's Liberation Army In what could be an unnerving revelation, several Japanese unmanned helicopters produced by Yamaha Motor may be in the possession of the China's...
'Defense Tech reports on BAE Systems' CORAX Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV), an unmanned fighter with stealth features whose early models look somewhat like the USA's Darkstar technology demonstrator. DefenseTech offers a quick background that draws on behind-the-wall material...
'Whether mustering cattle on vast outback stations, searching for missing bushwalkers or conducting military operations on the ground, the advantages of seeing “over-the-hill” without having to move from your current location don't need to be spelled out. These are...
'Troops on the ground in Iraq face many risks - the insurgents and anti-Iraqi forces are devious when it comes to placing improvised explosive devices and hiding weapons caches. It always helps to have an extra set of eyes...
'European manufacturers of remote sensors need to bridge the technology gap that exists between them and their US counterparts to avoid missing out on a potentially huge market for military and civil unmanned air vehicles. European suppliers need to...
January 21, 2006
'In the dark, pre-dawn hours of Friday, the thirteenth of January, near the Afghan-Pakistani border, the buzz of an unmanned robot plane broke the silence. Half a world and 12 and a half time zones away, someone on the...
January 19, 2006
'The U.S. Department of Defense has decided to make the next generation heavy bomber an unmanned aircraft. The Department of Defense also wants the new aircraft in service by the end of the next decade, some twenty years ahead...
'More than 300 aircraft of all types will roll off assembly lines and improve the Army’s war-fighting capability during the next seven years, according to Army aviation leaders at a forum here. Speaking to more than 400 attendees during...
'A recent simulated test of military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) demonstrated yet one more envisioned GPS role in future military operations. As part of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) program, Northrop Grumman performed a test of simulated,...
'The UK has proved that there's a little fight left in its military aerospace industry by unveiling the “Corax” unmanned stealth surveillance aircraft: According to the BBC, the BAE systems project looks a bit like “a cancelled US military...
'The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is calling for the creation of a body to co-ordinate introduction of routine unmannned air vehicle operations in the continent’s controlled airspace. The recommendation is part of an EASA effort to implement regulations...
The U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) wrote a new chapter in naval aviation history Jan. 16-17, when two RQ-8A Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) completed nine autonomous shipboard landings on board USS Nashville (LPD 13)...
January 16, 2006
The U.S. Air Force's Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle has made its first flight carrying a new sensor that can detect and identify radar and other types of electronic devices from an altitude of 60,000 feet. Global Hawk and...
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and the U.S. Army have successfully conducted a series of flights of the RQ-5A Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) using a new payload that will allow warfighters to more quickly adapt to battlefield changes. The...
'Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga confirmed Wednesday that Japan will deploy U.S.-made unmanned reconnaissance planes as early as fiscal 2007, and that the selection process will move into high gear in March. In response to questions from reporters accompanying...
'At least eight paramilitary personnel and five civilians were killed in an attack early Saturday by unidentified people on a newly established security post in Pakistan's northern Waziristan bordering Afghanistan, reports from the area said. Defense Ministry spokesman Maj....
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - News) received the first MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) airframe from its teammate, Schweizer Aircraft Corp., on Jan. 3 at Northrop Grumman's new Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss., signaling the...
'Without much fanfare, the U.S. Global Hawk UAV is taking over from manned aircraft, and space satellites. In the past year, Global Hawk was successfully tested a signals intelligence payload, as part of the Airborne SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) Payload...
Robonic Ltd of Tampere, Finland, has signed a contract to deliver the fourth of the new series of launchers to EADS Deutschland GmbH. The launcher will be delivered in April of 2006. Three previous launchers see service in various...
Protonex Technology Corporation, a leading manufacturer of high-performance fuel cell power systems for portable and remote applications, was awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to develop power systems for long-endurance micro unmanned aerial vehicles...
January 06, 2006
'Airmen who maintain the MQ-1 Predator here take great pride in ensuring the unmanned aerial vehicles they look after can keep and eagle eye on what goes on in Iraq. The 61 Airmen of the 46th Aircraft Maintenance Unit...
'The first of an anticipated 340 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles to be assembled during the next five years has arrived at Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems' Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point. The vertical take-off and landing UAV that...
'Israeli aircraft fired rockets in the direction of a car boarding Palestinians in the shanty town of Jabalya late on Monday scoring direct hits and killing three of its occupants. -- According to local radio stations, an Israeli pilotless...
'The proliferation of unmanned vehicle technologies used by the U.S. military has prompted an Army command to fund development of a toolkit that could be used for its entire fleet of unmanned ground vehicles. The U.S. Army's Transportation Command...
January 05, 2006
'A classified budget document approved by the Pentagon Dec. 23 calls for the termination by 2011 of one of the most heavily relied-upon reconnaissance planes in the Iraq war. The storied U-2 spy plane would commence retirement in 2007...
January 04, 2006
'The Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash will formally commission the Navy's first Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) squadron here on January 6. The Naval chief will review a ceremonial parade as part of the commissioning ceremony. The Navy...
'Kestrel Aerospace’s Lancer vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned air vehicle was due to undergo tethered hover tests late last month at an undisclosed private hangar in the UK. The VTOL UAV is an 80kg (175lb) vehicle able to...
'The proliferation of unmanned vehicle technologies used by the U.S. military has prompted an Army command to fund development of a toolkit that could be used for its entire fleet of unmanned ground vehicles. The U.S. Army's Transportation Command...
'The U.S. Air Force's RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system, built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), recently passed the 5,000 combat flight-hours mark while on a mission supporting the global war on terrorism. Deployed almost immediately following the...
'India's maritime snooping capabilities are all set to get a boost, with the Navy now ready to operationally deploy its first-ever squadron of Israeli UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) or spy drones. The Navy's first UAV squadron, with eight Searcher-II...
'Northrop Grumman Systems Corp, San Diego, Calif. is being awarded an $8,345,263 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-00-C-0277) for shipboard testing of Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, including shipboard installation and flight...
December 24, 2005
'Unmanned military aircraft have knocked out enemy targets and collected intelligence in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but are plagued with problems that delay information from getting to commanders for hours or days, according to congressional investigators. In...
'The Israel Navy (IN) will deploy its first reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in January. The IN has been allocated a few Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) Mahatz I (also known as Heron) medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAVs out of several...
December 23, 2005
'DID's article about the RQ-11 Raven's performance in Afghanistan noted that Canada was looking to buy its own set of mini-UAVs to complement its Sperwer tactical UAVs. Both systems are in the procurement pipeline as Canada prepares to send...
'AOPA Cites High Operating Costs, May Conflict With Existing GA Traffic The cost of operating unmanned aerial vehicles along the border may not be a good idea for a few reasons, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association...
December 22, 2005
'Predicting the future is one power that will never be attainable, but if it was possible it could save the lives of many service members in a combat zone. With the skills of the Marines of Intelligence Shop, 2nd...
The Swedish Government has today decided to participate in the European UCAV-demonstrator program, Neuron. Saab’s participation in the program is thereby secured. “This is a crucial decision for both Saab and Sweden, which secures our participation in one of...
December 21, 2005
'It has been confirmed that Agency for Defense Development (ADD) is actively pursuing to participate in the U.S. Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program development, which uses Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) as well as adopting it. On December...
'Simulated flight bench tests are being conducted this week on the US Naval Research Laboratory’s 2.54kg (5.6lb) Spider-Lion fuel-cell powered unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to gain performance efficiency data. The bench test data will aid further research using a...
December 19, 2005
'DID's article about the RQ-11 Raven's performance in Afghanistan noted that Canada was looking to buy its own set of mini-UAVs to complement its Sperwer tactical UAVs. Both systems are in the procurement pipeline as Canada prepares to send...
'Unmanned aircraft systems, or UASs, consist of an unmanned aircraft; sensor, communications, or weapons, carried on board the aircraft, collectively referred to as payloads; and ground controls. UAS have been used successfully in recent operations, and are in increasingly...
'Unmanned aerial vehicles are becoming integral to U.S. warfare, but their use for border patrol, homeland security and even weather monitoring will also increase, the general recently appointed to oversee these new aircraft told Reuters. Each of the military...
December 18, 2005
'The Office of Border Patrol is using a number of unmanned planes to patrol and track down immigrants crossing a portion of the Southwest border. While this is a positive step toward using mobile technology, it is also an...
'Unmanned aircraft systems, or UASs, consist of an unmanned aircraft; sensor, communications, or weapons, carried on board the aircraft, collectively referred to as payloads; and ground controls. UAS have been used successfully in recent operations, and are in increasingly...
December 15, 2005
'Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have already proven their unique capabilities and importance in the U.S. military's prosecution of the war on terror. Large tactical reconnaissance/targeting UAVs like the now-famous weaponized Predator UAVs (a.k.a. Predator drones), including the RQ/MQ-1 Predator,...
'Robotic patrol boats could safeguard the seas from piracy and fight ocean-going people traffickers, reports Tracey Logan in the BBC World Service's Discovery programme. Passengers aboard the Seabourn Spirit, a luxury liner sailing off the coast of Somalia, came...
'Unmanned U.S. military aircraft used in Iraq and Afghanistan are plagued with problems that delay information from reaching commanders for hours or days, congressional investigators said. In addition, unmanned aircraft flights are sometimes delayed or cancelled because the transmission...
'Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. (IAI) and Boeing Australia Ltd. have won a huge $100 million Australian Defence Force (ADF) tender for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). IAI will sell its tactical I-view UAV, but said its share of the deal...
'Unmanned military aircraft have knocked out enemy targets and collected intelligence in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but are plagued with problems that delay information from getting to commanders for hours or days, according to congressional investigators. In...
December 13, 2005
'Lockheed Martin will build a prototype High Altitude Airship (HAA) under a $149.2 million contract awarded by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). This contract marks the beginning of the program's third phase, leading to prototype delivery and flight in...
'The Australian Defence Force will be equipped with a fleet of long range tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to be used as Army's 'eyes in the sky' which will play a crucial intelligence and surveillance role in Australia combined...
'Composite Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM), Ikramatic and System Consultancy Services (SCS) have agreed to set up a joint venture company to develop a mini unmanned air vehicle for the Malaysian army. The three Malaysian companies signed a memorandum of...
'AUSTRALIA'S defence forces have bought themselves a new view of the battlefield, announcing a fleet of pilotless aircraft worth $145 million. Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill said the small, remotely controlled aircraft, known as tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, would...
'Canada’s Air Force is crafting a multimillion-dollar plan to purchase medium- or high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to be fielded by the end of the decade. Work is under way on the Joint Unmanned Surveillance Target Acquisition System (JUSTAS),...
December 12, 2005
'AUSTRALIA'S defence forces have bought themselves a new view of the battlefield, announcing a fleet of pilotless planes worth $145 million. Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill announced that the small, remotely controlled planes, known as tactical unmanned aerial vehicles...
'NASA's Centennial Challenges program office, in collaboration with the California Space Education and Workforce Institute, Santa Maria, Calif., announced the Planetary Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Challenge. This new $250,000 competition may significantly affect how science is conducted on planets and...
'Northrop Grumman Corp. has tapped Cubic Corp. to provide the tactical common data link for a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) currently under development. Cubic of San Diego won an $11 million subcontract from Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman to...
'NOAA has successfully completed its first series of missions using a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system recently to support NOAA’s operational and research needs. Over the course of one flight, the Altair UAS set a number of records, including...
December 09, 2005
'Boeing displayed its vision of the future of air warfare Tuesday, a batlike model of a small fighter craft that exudes silent menace. Sitting in a parking lot inside Boeing's research complex across from the Museum of Flight, the...
'One minute after take-off, the Irkut-2F, an unmanned aerial vehicle, crashed into a padi field. It was the first accident recorded during the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (Lima) 2005 air show. No one was injured in the...
'The Program Executive Office for Strike Weapons and Unmanned Aerial Systems (PEO-W) is working with organizations in the Army to facilitate the development of the Fire Scout Vertical Take-off Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV) system. The partnership has at it's...
December 08, 2005
'Pilotless aircraft could soon be flying over Queensland skies. A $3.5 million Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation was officially launched in Brisbane today. The facility will be based at the Brisbane Airport and will allow Queensland University of...
'As President Bush was bumping along the banks of the Rio Grande last week with the United States Border Patrol, an American unmanned aircraft was apparently tracking a top Al Qaeda member to an abandoned house in remote Pakistan....
Cubic Defense Applications, the defense segment of Cubic Corporation (AMEX:CUB) has received an $11 million contract from Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems to provide its Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL) for the Navy's MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing...
'Northrop Grumman has successfully conducted a critical design review of its MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the U.S. Navy. The review moves the program closer to full-scale production and delivery of the vertical takeoff and landing...
'Boeing has announced the A160 Hummingbird unmanned rotorcraft made its first test flight from an airfield near Victorville, Calif., Nov. 30. “This flight - the first with a six cylinder Subaru engine - is an important step toward concept...
'Thales and Israeli firm Elop are to provide the mission payloads for the UK’s Watchkeeper WK450 unmanned air vehicle system under a selection announced on 7 December. The companies will respectively supply their I-Master synthetic-aperture radar/ground moving target indication...
December 05, 2005
'Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV has established a dominant position in the High Altitude/ Long Endurance UAV market. While they aren't cheap - GlobalSecurity.org notes that these UAVs cost about $48 million with a full sensor suite, or...
'Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has successfully conducted a critical design review of its MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the U.S. Navy. The review moves the program closer to full-scale production and delivery of the vertical takeoff...
'Israel has launched an evaluation of a tactical miniature unmanned aerial vehicle. The Israel Army has begun trials of the SkyLite-B UAV for tactical missions for infantry battalions. The trials sought to determine the capabilities of Skylite-B for urban...
'On Tuesday in El Paso, Texas, President Bush promised, “We're going to use drones to help enforce the border in rural Texas and in rural New Mexico and rural Arizona.” Between Tuesday and Thursday, New Mexico and Texas disappeared...
'The President wants it to happen. The guys on the ground want it to happen. And their bosses in DC want it to happen. But that doesn't mean the bureaucrats are going to let unmanned spy planes start patrolling...
November 30, 2005
'User groups and industry alike in the Unmanned – Aviation, Ground and Marine systems sectors will benefit strongly from the recently announced cooperation between Shephard Group and UVS International, according to Iain Blackhall of Shephard Group and Peter van...
November 29, 2005
'AAI Corp. has been honored by the Department of Defense for its work on an unmanned aerial vehicle system used in Operation Iraqi Freedom. AAI, a subsidiary of Hunt Valley-based United Industrial Corp. (NYSE: UIC), earned a special achievement...
'UAVs are starting to replace spy satellites in the major espionage agencies. The CIA has long had its own fleet of Predator UAVs, and now the NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which analyses stuff, makes maps, and the like) and...
November 28, 2005
'The Indian Navy's first 'Unmanned Aerial Vehicle' (UAV) squadron will be commissioned here in January, Flag Officer Commander-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, Vice-Admiral S C Bangara said today. Addressing a press conference on board the INS Krishna, anchored off the...
'Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have already proven their unique capabilities and importance in the U.S. military's prosecution of the war on terror. Large tactical reconnaissance/targeting UAVs like the now-famous weaponized Predator UAVs (a.k.a. Predator drones), including the RQ/MQ-1 Predator,...
November 27, 2005
'The Russian government has not been pushing the development of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), but that does not mean Russian firms are ignoring them. Russian companies, particularly Yakovlev and Tupelov, have been working on a family of UAVs. These...
November 26, 2005
'During a development test flight last week, one of Denel's 'Seeker' unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was damaged in an emergency landing north of Pretoria. A Board of Inquiry has been convened to establish the cause of the incident and...
November 25, 2005
'THE aviation industry's dream of flying pilotless cargo planes may be grounded by a lack of radio frequencies to control the aircraft. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry is lobbying regulators to let military UAVs use civilian airspace and...
'Israel’s aircraft industry continues to lead the world in the development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and claims recent reports of faulty UAVs sold to India are totally false. India’s media have reported in recent days that the Indian...
'Robonic Ltd of Finland is to establish a dedicated UAV test flight centre at Kemijarvi, Finland. This new centre will support development, test and evaluation, and operational training for ground launched targets and tactical UAV’s. The facilities will include...
'India has expressed concern over the high crash rate of its Israeli-made spy drones, taking up the issue with Israeli officials, media reports said Thursday. Four of the 50 Searcher and Heron unmanned aerial vehicles India purchased from Israel...
November 24, 2005
'Within two years of its induction to boost border surveillance, Armed Forces have lost four Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAV) with Indian officials taking up the matter with Israeli manufacturers. The Defence Ministry took up the matter with the Israeli Aircraft...
'Flying high above the desert on the border between Arizona and Mexico, the very keen-of-eye on the ground might spy it on a clear day. The fleeting specter has a wingspan of 32 feet and is 18 feet long....
'Saab and FMV's technology demonstrator program FILUR has successfully made its first flight and the test results are now being evaluated in order to be able to optimize flight performance for future flights. On the 10th of October the...
'Russian's Irkut Corporation announced today that it is to begin production of five 'unmanned and optionally piloted' 'civilian' UAV systems in early 2006. They are the Irkut-2F/T, -20, -60, -200 and -850. The latter model can lift a payload...
'Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. today held a demonstration of its new tactical mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), intended for use by the IDF. The new mini-UAV is a member of the SkyLite family of UAVs for tactical intelligence for...
'Advances in the aerial platforms, surveillance sensors and command and control technologies are continuing to fuel boom conditions in UAV development-and the interest is beginning to be shared by the civilian industrial economy. Since the introduction of a dedicated...
'The Boeing Co.’s work on unmanned aerial vehicles for the Navy will continue under a $24 million contract modification. Boeing of Chicago previously won a contract to develop unmanned aerial vehicle control software, classification aids software and computer-aided design...
November 22, 2005
The Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) System is set to remain at the forefront of battlefield operations and capability with the US Army committing more than US$300M over the next five years to its ongoing evolution and...
'Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. today held a demonstration of its new tactical mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), intended for use by the IDF. The new mini-UAV is a member of the SkyLite family of UAVs for tactical intelligence for...
'Saab and FMV's technology demonstrator program FILUR has successfully made its first flight and the test results are now being evaluated in order to be able to optimize flight performance for future flights. On the 10th of October the...
November 21, 2005
'There are currently 19 different UAV types operating in Iraq with coalition forces stated General Ron Fogleman (Ret’d), former USAF chief of staff, speaking yesterday at the Defense News Media Group’s Air Chiefs Conference held at the Knowledge Village,...
'Advances in the aerial platforms, surveillance sensors and command and control technologies are continuing to fuel boom conditions in UAV development-and the interest is beginning to be shared by the civilian industrial economy. Since the introduction of a dedicated...
November 20, 2005
'A team led by Thales UK will trial the launch and recovery of an organic Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) from a Royal Navy (RN) Type 23 frigate as part of a final phase of maritime trials to be conducted...
November 18, 2005
'During a development test flight this week, one of Denel's 'Seeker' unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was damaged in an emergency landing north of Pretoria. A Board of Inquiry has been convened to establish the cause of the incident and...
'The glamour of their “piloting” job may not match that of F-15 Eagle or F-16 Fighting Falcon “fighter jocks.” But a group of enlisted Airmen here are using their wings to do a job both kinds of pilots do...
'The age of the mini-UAV started in 1987, when Dr Paul MacCready's AeroVironment company developed the Pointer, the first hand-launched, backpack-carried UAV. Pointer combined the airframe technology of a high-performance model sailplane with an electric motor and propeller, a...
November 16, 2005
Check out this fascinating piece on how a student is using the behavior of flocks of animals to help with UAV development: 'A student at the Technion observed the behavior of flocks of wild animals such as storks, wasps,...
'Cadets and faculty working in the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory in the Colorado Springs, CO-based USAF Academy Department of Electrical And Computer Engineering here are designing and building more the next generation of sophisticated autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles -- UAVs...
'Should a Pandemic hit, we may just see the rapid deployment of Guided Resupply Systems, as seen above. Launched by Stara Technologies, this is an ideal (if expensive) method of delivering medical supplies without putting human lives at risk....
'When the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Air Assault Division deployed to Iraq in late October 2005, it contained more unmanned-aerial-vehicle (UAV) assets than any combat brigade in US Army history. Among the many warfighting tools at his disposal,...
'Air force seeks partner for MALE and tactical programmes, and eyes new trainers and utility helicopters The United Arab Emirates is poised to select a foreign partner to help it develop its own medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) and tactical unmanned...
'Honeywell is developing a micro flying spy drone -- that would be used for civilian law enforcement! The device, a hovering robot carrying video cameras and other sensors, is being created and tested at HONEYWELL's Albuquerque, NM plant. The...
'Small, close-range vehicle intended for military surveillance, but may have civil roles Korean Air (KAL) has begun developing a small, close-range unmanned air vehicle (UAV) for potential military surveillance missions and expects to begin flight tests by August 2007....
November 15, 2005
Strategy has a good post on Why Marines Love Their Dragon Eyes'The U.S. Marine Corps has been using the six pound Dragon Eye UAV for three years now. This system is just an interim one, until a better replacement...
'India has renewed interest in buying unmanned spy planes from Israel for deployment on its borders with Pakistan and China. A deal with Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) for the purchase of 50 Heron aircraft that can mount a remote...
November 11, 2005
'The Global Hawk UAV was still in its development stages when the needs of the war in Afghanistan saw it pressed into service. Since then, Global Hawk has successfully completed more than 225 missions through three deployments and more...
'U.S. Air Force ACADEMY, Colo. - At the Sensor-based Intelligent Robotics Laboratory in the department of electrical and computer engineering here, cadets and faculty are designing and building more sophisticated autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles. These UAVs will able to...
November 10, 2005
'An amendment to the Defense Authorization bill will authorize the Pentagon to ramp up its fleet of unmanned aircraft, possibly increasing the number of UAVs destined for Grand Forks Air Force Base. The Senate approved late Tuesday night a...
'Make that 38 unmanned aerial vehicles stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base instead of nine. The U.S. Senate approved adding to the number of UAVs in its $491 billion defense authorization bill late Tuesday, said Sen. Kent Conrad,...
'European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV (5730.FR) could incur charges of over EUR100 million in the fourth quarter as a result of a review of two drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle, programs, Chief Operating Officer for Finance Hans...
November 09, 2005
'They've watched the city live. They've seen the daily ebb and flow of families going about their business. They've watched the city die. They've seen roads abruptly turn into puffs of smoke, and people fleeing in terror. They've seen...
'Elbit Systems Ltd. reported today that its Skylark mini-UAV has been selected for rapid deployment by the Australian Army. Elbit Systems will deliver 6 systems to the Australian Ground Forces. The Skylark system includes 3 Air Vehicles, a Ground...
'U. S. Marines and sailors from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, use the Dragon Eye to minimize friendly casualties and maximize surveillance during missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The Dragon Eye...
'Impressed by the American use of micro-UAVs in Iraq, Australia has obtained the Skylark system from Israeli firm Elbit. Australian troops in Iraq will receive one Skylark system (three ten pound UAVs, plus one set of ground control equipment),...
'The U.S. Navy's most advanced unmanned aerial system (UAS), the RQ-4A Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration (GHMD), participated with the Air Force in a congressionally directed demonstration Oct. 26, to detect airborne targets. The 12.3 hour mission, flown in Navy...
November 08, 2005
'Iran sent letters protesting illegal overflights by two unmanned American aircraft that crashed in Iran in recent months, documents circulated at the United Nations on Monday showed. Iran's deputy U.N. ambassador Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi asked the U.N. Security Council on...
'Singapore is looking to buy at least two mini unmanned surveillance aircraft, The Straits Times reported Nov. 7. The Defense Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), the city-state’s procurement arm, confirmed with Agence France-Presse that it had made inquiries with...
'EADS Military Aircraft has just staged the successful first flight of the high-speed UAV demonstrator CARAPAS (CApacité drone RAPide AntileurreS) at the Biscarrosse missile test centre (CELM) in France. The aim of the flight was to check the system...
November 06, 2005
'Dimensions of a ‘UAV gap’ between what the US does and, well, everyone else were unavoidably highlighted in an ‘international perspectives’ session. The UK, Canada and Australia sent teams to outline progress being made in their respective countries, but...
November 05, 2005
'They've fought fires, peeked into windows in a search for Hurricane Katrina victims and tracked the movements of insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are the eyes in the skies, and soon, they could be watching you. These flying...
'The easily-transportable unmanned aerial vehicle gives troops up-to-date reconnaissance over a wide area of terrain. U.S. Marines and sailors from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, use the Dragon Eye to minimize friendly casualties and maximize...
'Seoul plans to launch a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned air vehicle development programme next year to equip the South Korean air force. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) says its UAV team began working earlier this year with the Agency for...
Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Army's Airworthiness Development and Test Center performed flight demonstrations of the U.S. Army's MQ-8 Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing unmanned air vehicle (UAV) during the 50th anniversary celebration at Fort Rucker, Ala.,...
'Israel's leading non-state-owned defense firm has detailed its contract to provide unmanned aerial vehicles to the British Army. Elbit Systems said its contribution to the Watchkeeper program would reach 317 million pounds, or more than $500 million. Elbit Systems...
'Alion Science and Technology Corp. won a $5 million contract with the Army Aviation and Missile Command for process technology of replacement parts for Army helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicle weapon systems. Process technology refers to manufacturing techniques and...
'Defence Minister Robert Hill said four Skylark miniature UAVs will be deployed to assist the second rotation of the Al Muthanna Task Group (AMTG). A further two UAVs will remain in Australia for training and preparation purposes. “The miniature...
November 01, 2005
'Canada's military is buying miniature spy planes that soldiers can carry on their backs and launch anywhere to collect pictures from over the hill or around the corner in battle zones. Reconnaissance, artillery or other troops should be packing...
'Alion Awarded $5M Army Aviation Contract; Technology Solutions Firm to Enhance Helicopter and UAV Technologies Alion Science and Technology was awarded a $5M contract for process technology of replacement parts production through the Army Aviation and Missile Command. The...
'The UK is increasing its use of General Atomics MQ-1 Predator unmanned air vehicles under a partnership with the US Air Force, and could seek to extend the deal to also include operations of the service’s larger MQ-9 Predator...
'Alion Science and Technology Corp. won a $5 million contract with the Army Aviation and Missile Command for process technology of replacement parts for Army helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicle weapon systems. Process technology refers to manufacturing techniques, and...
October 30, 2005
'Research at NDSU has the potential to revolutionize the efficiency of the teams operating unmanned aerial vehicles in the military. Verlin Hinsz, a professor of psychology, facilitates the research. Hinsz wrote a proposal in 2003 called “Enhancing Coordination and...
October 28, 2005
Gizmag has a great article on The Snark - a VTOL UAV: 'Meet the Snark – an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle of immense capability that demonstrates just how far the breed has come in such a short period of...
'With the MQ-1 Predator logging significant hours in counterinsurgency operations and earning troop support, the Air Force wants to buy more of the aircraft and develop the next-generation variant. Predators worldwide are logging 4,000 hours a month in support...
October 27, 2005
'UAVs are being equipped with more powerful sensors in order to deal with the special demands of the fighting in Iraq. The U.S. Air Force is trying out a sniper detection system mounted on low flying UAVs. This consists...
'The SAS is to buy the military equivalent of a model aeroplane that can be carried in a rucksack to help fight insurgents in the hills of Afghanistan. Troopers from the regiment have carried out trials on a 10lb...
Aurora Flight Sciences’ GoldenEye-50 unmanned aerial system (UAS) performed its first high-speed, coordinated banked turns during a recent envelope expansion flight. The turns demonstrate the GoldenEye-50’s ability to provide the high-speed manoeuvrability that sets it apart from other unmanned...
'U.S. Senator Evan Bayh today announced that he helped secure $9 million for Rolls Royce to develop an engine for the upgraded Global Hawk, an unmanned aerial vehicle, which will carry out critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities. The...
'Future Air Force leaders here are working to produce a stealthier unmanned aerial vehicle powered by an alternative energy source. The research project into fuel cells and hydrogen storage materials started about 10 years ago as a collaboration between...
The Future Combat Systems (FCS) program has passed a significant milestone in its progress toward selecting a Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system. The announcement was made today by Boeing [NYSE: BA] and partner Science Applications International Corporation...
'The UK's Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment has carried out trials of the Mission Technologies BUSTER (Backpack Unmanned Surveillance Targeting and Enhanced Reconnaissance) small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ahead of an enhanced deployment of UK special forces personnel to...
'Researchers working with the Office of Naval Research (ONR) have developed a way to build extremely small sensors using nanorobot fabrication. This new process, created by Harold Szu and James Buss of ONR and implemented by Xi Ning of...
'A special investigation team from Israel will arrive in Sri Lanka next week to investigate the engine trouble that caused the Air Force's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to crash in a LTTE-held area. Sri Lankan Air Force Chief Donald...
'Long known for its work on Apollo rockets and space stations, a Huntsville company is adding another aerospace expertise to its resume. Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. is developing a lightweight, quick response unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, for the...
Gizmag has an excellent piece on the shrinking of UAVs - MAVs (micro air vehicles): 'As the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have unfolded, one of the new stars in the theatre of battle has been the Unmanned Aerial...
'The debris of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) of the Sri Lanka Air Force which fell into the LTTE held area in the North of Vavuniya on Wednesday were removed by LTTE cadres in Vanni, sources said. According to...
'Media reports that the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) belonging to Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) that came down in Vanni on 19 October was downed either by radar-guided gun or by an air-borne attack by the Liberation Tigers were...
'An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) launched from the Joseph camp in Vavuniya for surveillance mission into the Liberation Tigers controlled area has come down in Vanni Wednesday afternoon, sources in Kilinochchi said. A UAV was seen coming down in...
SpaceWar reports that there is massive growth in the UAV market in the coming years: 'The Market for UAV Reconnaissance Systems – including air vehicles, ground control equipment and payloads – is expected to be worth $13.6 billion through...
Rotorhub reports on the UAV Conference in Washington: 'Quad A (US Army Aviation Association of America) kicked off its first ever UAV conference here with about 400 people gathered to hear about the synergy developing between Army aviation and...
October 20, 2005
'Intelligent, science-driven robotic space missions are a decade or two in the future, they will be international, and they will have significant corporate and private sponsorship. Remote-sensing orbiters, probes, landers and rovers are returning astonishing discoveries about our solar...
'The Future Combat Systems (FCS) program has passed a significant milestone in its progress toward selecting a Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system. The announcement was made today by Boeing [NYSE: BA] and partner Science Applications International Corporation...
Aurora Flight Sciences’ GoldenEye-50 unmanned aerial system (UAS) performed its first high-speed, coordinated banked turns during recent envelope expansion flight. The turns demonstrate the GoldenEye-50’s ability to provide the high-speed maneuverability that sets it apart from other unmanned VTOL...
'An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) launched from the Joseph camp in Vavuniya for surveillance mission into the Liberation Tigers controlled area has come down in Vanni Wednesday afternoon, sources in Kilinochchi said. A UAV was seen coming down in...
October 18, 2005
'Future Air Force leaders here are working to produce a stealthier unmanned aerial vehicle powered by an alternative energy source. The research project into fuel cells and hydrogen storage materials started about 10 years ago as a collaboration between...
'A system enabling a soldier to control multiple dissimilar unmanned air vehicles and receive real-time surveillance data on demand, using a handheld computer, has been demonstrated by a team led by Northrop Grumman. The 22 September demonstration involved four...
'At the request of the United States Army, STARA Technologies will demonstrate its patented miniature guided parachute technology at the Precision Airdrop Technology Conference and Demonstration at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. On October 17th...
'The Army recently began using an unmanned aerial vehicle that is small enough to carry in a backpack for surveillance and intelligence gathering in Iraq. The 21-inch long Tactical Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has a wingspan of 21 inches....
October 17, 2005
'RAF combat pilots will be replaced by unmanned robotic aircraft in the coming years, a senior airforce commander predicted yesterday. But Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge warned that if ministers try to use technical advances to impose more...
'Carolina Unmanned Vehicles, Inc. (CUV), Raleigh North Carolina, announces a contract for a new version of the Helikite Elevated Platform (HEP) with Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin...
'One thing American combat troops can’t get enough of is UAVs. So many of them have been distributed to combat units that commanders are uneasy if they don’t have one or more of them up there, keeping a real-time...
A Canadian Forces’ Silver Fox mini-UAV was flown with the CDL Systems Ltd. VCS-4586 software on 21 September 2005, in a demonstration to the Department of National Defence UAV working group in Suffield Alberta. The VCS is ground control...
'With the graceful flight of hawks and eagles in mind, NASA aerospace engineer Michael Allen recently hand-launched a 15-pound motorized model sailplane over the Southern California desert. He was hoping it would catch plumes of rising air called thermals....
'Studies will lay groundwork for fully capable UCAV system to be introduced by 2025 EADS Military Aircraft has launched studies of an unmanned reconnaissance air vehicle (URAV) demonstrator to support its “modular approach” to acquiring technology for an unmanned...
U.S. Senator Evan Bayh today announced that he helped secure $9 million for Rolls Royce to develop an engine for the upgraded Global Hawk, an unmanned aerial vehicle, which will carry out critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities. The...
'About 300 people from across the U.S. and at least two foreign countries will descend upon Albuquerque next week for the seventh annual Technical Analysis and Applications Center (TAAC) UAV conference. The four-day conference, sponsored by New Mexico State...
'There's a new airplane that may be flying into typhoons in our area of the Pacific...that's if the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC) decides that the Weatherscout unmanned aerial vehicle is right for Guam. The Weatherscout...
At the request of the United States Army, STARA Technologies, Inc. will demonstrate its patented miniature guided parachute technology at the Precision Airdrop Technology Conference and Demonstration at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. On October...
October 12, 2005
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has successfully led the first demonstration of a system that autonomously controls low-flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to deliver real-time surveillance data to U.S. military forces in urban battle zones. The flight exercise showed that...
October 08, 2005
'With the graceful flight of hawks and eagles in mind, NASA aerospace engineer Michael Allen hand-launched a lightweight motorized model sailplane over the Southern California desert recently, hoping it would catch plumes of rising air called thermals. It did...
'L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) announced today that its Communication Systems-West (L-3 CS-West) and Communication Systems-East (L-3 CS-East) divisions have been awarded contracts by The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) for the P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program. The initial contracts...
'US defence research agency wants to develop air vehicle small enough to fly inside caves and tunnels The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is to develop and demonstrate unmanned air vehicles small enough to operate inside caves...
'The U.S. Air Force has successfully tested software that allows one pilot to control up to four MQ-1 Predator UAVs. This makes Predator operations more efficient, and cheaper. It also helps deal with a problem the air force created...
'General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), a leading manufacturer of unmanned aircraft and high resolution surveillance and radar imaging systems, along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today unveiled the CBP's first procurement unmanned aircraft system (UAS), a...
'UAVs are starting to replace spy satellites in the major espionage agencies. The CIA has long had its own fleet of Predator UAVs, and now the NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which analyses stuff, makes maps, and the like) and...
'Marines and Sailors from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, use the Marine Corps Dragon Eye, the smallest functioning unmanned aerial vehicle, in an effort to minimize friendly casualties and maximize surveillance during missions...
'AirScooter Corporation (OTC:ASCO - News), an innovator of new air vehicle concepts, announced that it has completed an electric powered AirScooter(TM) UAV prototype for flight testing. The electric E70 is based on the company's high-performance gasoline engine G70 platform....
October 07, 2005
'The Coast Guard Administration (Taiwan) has proposed deploying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) over the disputed Pratas Islands beginning in 2007 to boost the nation's capability to gather intelligence and conduct surveillance and reconnaissance over its territory. CGA Minister Shi...
October 05, 2005
Northrop Grumman Corporation has completed acceptance testing of the first production version of a new integrated sensor suite that will enhance imaging capability for the U.S. Air Force. The milestone clears the way for the company to begin installing...
September 30, 2005
'The United States has turned down a bid from South Korea to buy cutting-edge high-altitude“Global Hawk” unmanned aerial vehicles from the country. The unmanned spy plane is considered a key strategic weapon and is under strict export restrictions, meaning...
September 29, 2005
'UNIVERSITI Sains Ma-laysia (USM) aero-space engineering school in Nibong Tebal, Pe-nang, is developing a prototype of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for surveillance purposes. Aerospace engineering school lecturer Dr Endri Rachman said the school had received a RM250,000 grant from...
September 28, 2005
Raytheon Company was recently awarded a $31.4 million contract to provide the Multispectral Targeting System (MTS)-A for the Navy MH-60 helicopter and the Predator UAV (unmanned airborne vehicle) programs. Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) will deliver 32 MTS-A...
After a recent attack on an Al-Qaeda base in Pakistan the army proudly displayed what it claimed was a drone used to spy on troop movements. Which sounds like a great coup- until a number of toy plane fanatics pointed...
September 27, 2005
'The latest upgrade to the MQ-1 Predator, known as the Multi-Aircraft Control system, entered operational testing with the first ever two-ship and four-ship Predator sorties flown from Creech Air Force Base. During these sorties, members from the 53rd Test...
'Italy is set to launch one of its first robotic airships this week, helping biologists tackle pollution and safeguard the environment . The airship, or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), will take to the skies on Thursday, carrying technical instruments...
September 26, 2005
'The Defense Ministry plans to develop sophisticated unmanned fighter jets equipped with a radar-evading stealth function by 2020, a state-run defense agency said Saturday. In a report to the National Assembly, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), affiliated with...
There's a useful piece over at Black Anthem on UAV's titled Eyes in the skies that gives a good introductory overview of UAVs: 'In 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright invented the very first powered, heavier-than-air machine capable of controlled,...
September 25, 2005
'Air Force senior leaders answered questions on topics ranging from the buildup of military power in China to the status of Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., during an open panel discussion here Sept. 13. The following were the comments...
September 23, 2005
'The South African Air Force (SAAF) hopes that South Africa will be able to recapture its place as a world leader in the development and operation of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). “South Africa was a world leader in UAVs,...
September 22, 2005
'General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), a leading manufacturer of unmanned aircraft and high resolution surveillance and radar imaging systems, today announced that the Predator unmanned aircraft system (UAS) family achieved a milestone of 150,000 flight hours last month,...
'Hurricane researchers at the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, Fla., marked a new milestone in hurricane observation as the first unmanned aircraft touched down after a 10-hour mission into Tropical Storm Ophelia, which lost its hurricane...
'Initial funding for the UK’s Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment (ASTRAEA) initiative is expected to be announced this week, starting a multi-year effort to normalise unmanned air vehicle operations in UK airspace. The launch funding is...
September 20, 2005
'The world's foremost developer and manufacturer or UAVs, Israeli Aerospace Industry (IAI) and Elbit Systems, has scored two large contracts. One, for $50 million, is from the Israeli Defense Forces, while the other, for $150 million, is to supply...
'Hurricane researchers flew a small drone aircraft through Tropical Storm Ophelia as it passed Virginia's Eastern Shore last week, demonstrating a new way to probe the storms at low altitudes that human pilots seldom dare. “Hurricane Hunter” planes flown...
September 19, 2005
'AN Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) of Indian Air Force crashed near Jib (Kamal Danga, Sunari), about 20 kilometers from Udhampur on Saturday evening. However, no loss of the life was reported. Sources said that UAV caught fire after it...
'The U.S. Defense Department has been examining a miniature unmanned aerial vehicle designed to provide small military units with tactical reconnaissance. The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been examining the Micro Air Vehicle developed by Honeywell. The...
'The Israel Police Traffic Department yesterday began operating a Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), made by Elbit Systems, as part of its enforcement of traffic laws. The UAV will also be used to track delinquent drivers. Use of...
'Military UAVs are the latest assets that have been drafted into service for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The reserve units sent to New Orleans don't have UAVs, so the navy has come forward with UAV support. Ten Evolution class...
'Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) will supply Heron (Machatz 1) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the Israel Air Force for over $50 million. Increased need for surveillance UAVs, particularly following withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, accounts for the order, which...
'Europe is expected to be the world's third-largest unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market over the next decade behind the US and the Asia-Pacific region, according a new market survey of the continent's military UAV requirements conducted by consulting firm...
'An Elbit Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which forms the basis of the UK's Watchkeeper programme, became on 7 September the first large UAV to fly in UK air space. The 4.5-hour flight was the first full flight,...
'Robonic Ltd of Finland is to establish a dedicated UAV test flight centre at Kemijarvi, Finland. This new centre will support development, test and evaluation, and operational training for ground launched targets and tactical UAV’s. The facilities will include...
'A flapping-wing micro unmanned air vehicle (MAV) weighing just 17g and with a wingspan of 330mm (13in) flew successfully at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands last month. The remotely controlled Delfly, which has four wings and...
September 18, 2005
The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been examining the Micro Air Vehicle developed by Honeywell. The MAV was one of several micro-UAVs reviewed by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as part of the Advanced Concept Technology...
September 14, 2005
'The number of students training to pilot unmanned drones, which can be used to spy on enemy troops, has more than quadrupled at Fort Huachuca since military campaigns began in Iraq and in Afghanistan. The Army's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle...
September 13, 2005
'Robonic Ltd of Finland is to establish a dedicated UAV test flight centre at Kemijarvi, Finland. This new centre will support development, test and evaluation, and operational training for ground launched targets and tactical UAV’s. The facilities will include...
September 12, 2005
'Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) was recently awarded a contract to supply the Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system - “Machatz 1” to the Israel Air Force (IAF). The order, valued in excess of $50 million includes long-term maintenance contract....
'Researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL’s) Tactical Electronic Warfare Division (TEWD) have developed an affordably expendable fully autonomous compact electric helicopter system called SPIDER (Scientific Payload Insertion Device Electric Rotor). The helicopter can perform automatic takeoffs, fly up...
September 08, 2005
'Elbit Systems’ Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flew yesterday above ParcAberporth, Wales. The Hermes 450 is a part of WatchKeeper, a joint project by Elbit Systems and Thales. The flight was part of the UAV 2005 Exhibition taking...
'Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) history was made today at the ParcAberporth Unmanned Systems event in Wales with the first flight in UK airspace of a large UAV. Thales UK and Watchkeeper team partner Elbit systems presented a flight demonstration...
'Tiny, unmanned surveillance planes are being pressed into action for reconnaissance over Katrina-ravaged New Orleans in what defense contractors call the biggest civilian deployment ever for the technology. Ten of the unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, have been taking...
September 07, 2005
'A centre of excellence for developing unmanned aircraft is officially opening in west Wales with the creation of up to 1,000 jobs. ParcAberporth will become a key site for developing and testing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The aircraft have...
'UAV manufacturer Aerosonde has been awarded a contract worth almost US$700,00 by the US Air Force to undertake trials to meet weather reconnaissance requirements for tropical storms as well as military targeting and training. According to the USAF, the...
September 06, 2005
'A unmanned US spy plane Monday thwarted an Iraqi rebel mortar attack on a sprawling US base, firing two missiles which killed 11 insurgents and wounded four more, the military said. US forces “located two groups of attackers with...
'QinetiQ and the Verhaert Group of Belgium, have announced the acquisition by QinetiQ of a 90% share of Verhaert Design and Development NV (VDD), the leading Belgian space systems integrator. The company will be renamed Verhaert Space NV. QinetiQ...
'Island state interested in airborne early warning RQ-4 development to expand surveillance capabilities Singapore received a formal briefing from the USA on the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle late last month as it looks to improve...
'Unmanned remote-controlled airplanes used in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars may be deployed to find people trapped in New Orleans' buildings by Hurricane Katrina's flood waters, a U.S. congressman said Friday. Five Silver Fox “unmanned aerial vehicles,” or UAVs,...
September 05, 2005
'Janice Morrow was one of the people involved in bringing the use of small unmanned aircraft systems under the control of the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command last year. When she retired, Col. Morrow looked for a way...
'Cyber Defense Systems has announced the introduction and successful testing of a revolutionary new propulsion system. Cyber Defense's propulsion systems for the Mid Altitude Airships SA 90 being built by Techsphere Systems International is designed to maintain geo-stationary position...
'Finmeccanica group companies Alenia Aeronautica and Aermacchi are to establish industrial and commercial partnerships with two of Russia’s leading aviation companies, Irkut and its subsidiary Yakovlev. The partnerships will be in the fields of aircraft design, training aircraft and...
Cyber Defense Systems, Inc. ,a designer and developer of next generation unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV''s) and an operating subsidiary of Proxity, Inc. (Pink Sheets: PRXT), today announced the introduction and successful testing of a revolutionary new propulsion system. Cyber...
'Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd. (IAI) and Elbit Systems will jointly supply the Turkish Armed Forces Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) systems. The contract is valued at $150 million and each company's share will amount to approximately $75 million. The contract...
'With about 775 unmanned aerial vehicles—from miniature UAVs to the high-altitude Global Hawk—now in operation over Iraq and Afghanistan, the military services are once again confronting long-standing differences over roles and missions. The latest debate about UAVs is not...
'Unmanned remote-controlled airplanes used in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars may be deployed to find people trapped in New Orleans' buildings by Hurricane Katrina's flood waters, a U.S. congressman said Friday. Five Silver Fox “unmanned aerial vehicles,” or UAVs,...
'Fighting an insurgency without fronts, U.S. commanders in Iraq need a technical advantage to rob the enemy of free movement. Live video images from unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, give soldiers critical capabilities, said 1st Lt. William Weiland, 501st...
'Unmanned Technologies Australia (UTA) has finalised details of a consortium to develop and commercialise a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The new UAV program, AIRCOMS, will develop a unique airborne communications and surveillance capability suitable for a wide range...
'Pakistan is reported to be in the process of acquiring a German unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system in the current fiscal. Chief of General Staff Lt Gen Tariq Majeed has “instructed the military operations and military intelligence directorates to...
September 04, 2005
The US Border Patrol has announced they have purchased a Predator B UAV to patrol the US-Mexican border. The mission will be to look for both smuggling of drugs and humans. The UAV will begin its work next month between...
August 30, 2005
Mission Critical Unmanned specializes in providing autonomous unmanned aircraft and aviation infrastructure to agencies and organizations with exacting data needs, but lacking aviation expertise. When fully operational, UASTD will comprise a camera payload in an unmanned aerial vehicle, flying...
'Northrop Grumman has won one of several contracts from the U.S. Navy to study and recommend solutions to the service's requirement for an around-the-clock, worldwide maritime surveillance capability. The study contract, named Persistent Unmanned Maritime Airborne Surveillance (PUMAS), is...
August 29, 2005
'BAE Systems Australia’s JP129 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) solution has been given a boost thanks to recent contract awards made by the US Army. AAI Corporation, a lead partner on BAE Systems’ JP129 team has been awarded a...
August 28, 2005
'A plane without pilot crashed in a mountainous area in the west of Iran and its carcass was found by the Iranian armed forces. According to a daily newspaper of the country, it is undoubtedly about a spy plane....
'FORT HUACHUCA - This Southern Arizona Army post now boasts the world's largest unmanned aerial vehicle training facility. With the ribbon-cutting Friday afternoon officially opening the more than $10 million, 25,000-square-foot UAV System Training Center Annex, there is now...
Red Nova has a good article on the Evolution in Unmanned Vehicles: 'Specialized unmanned vehicles continue to emerge, for use on land, at sea, and in the air Unmanned ground vehicles like the Talon, shown here equipped with an...
Airman with the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron here are part of the Air Force's only operational Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle unit. The $35-million Global Hawk is used to provide Air Force and joint battlefield commanders near real-time, high-resolution intelligence,...
August 25, 2005
'An A-160 Hummingbird, a rotary wing UAV prototype lost power coming into land in Victorville, Calif last Thiursday. Sources said the engine shut down prematurely duirng the approach phase following a successful long-endurance flight. The accident is under investigation.'...
'Northrop Grumman has unveiled its BQM-74F which is the U.S. Navy's next-generation subsonic aerial target that can fly longer distances at much higher speeds and with increased maneuverability than before. Aerial targets are the Navy's most realistic means of...
August 24, 2005
'Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY) todayannounced that Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc., was one of threecompanies awarded a multi-million dollar contract by The BoeingCompany (NYSE:BA), the Lead Systems Integrator (LSI) for the U.S.Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, for phase one...
'The military's next generation of airborne drones won't be just small and silent – they'll also dive between buildings, zoom under overpasses and land on apartment balconies. At least, that's what University of Florida engineers are working toward. Funded...
'Japan's space agency plans to launch an arrow-shaped aeroplane at twice the speed of sound high over the Australian Outback as early as next month in a test of the country's push to develop a supersonic successor to the...
'Government-controlled CSIST unveils Chung Shyang II mock-up and hopes to develop strike version for military. Taiwan’s Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) has unveiled a new tactical unmanned air vehicle and hopes to develop a strike version...
August 23, 2005
'SOCOM (Special Operations Command), is getting its own Predator squadron. Normally, a Predator Squadron has twelve MQ-1 Predators assigned to it. The number of troops assigned varies, depending on how intensively the Predators will be used. SOCOM is gearing...
Twelve Predator UAVs will be coming to Ellington in Texas to replace the current fleet of F-16 aircraft present there now. The Predators will be used to patrol the Texas cost as well as watching the Mexican border for illegal...
August 22, 2005
'Firefighters across the West are getting a high-tech ally in their battle against wildland flames: A remote-controlled spy plane that doesn't mind smoke, can see in the dark and never sleeps. Scientists have been testing whether flocks of the...
Proxy Aviation Systems has unveiled the SkyWatcher unmanned aircraft system. The SkyWatcher is designed for long endurance, low and medium altitude, multi-payload intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The SkyWatcher system consists of four main components: highly autonomous air vehicles;...
August 21, 2005
'After failing to push through a dubious $85 million deal for night vision equipment for tanks from a French company in late June, as the deal was exposed in time by the South Asia Tribune, the same ambitious top...
August 19, 2005
'Once used only for remote reconnaissance, unmanned aircraft technology has rapidly evolved in recent years. Such systems now feature strike capabilities and are being used for force-protection and signals-collection missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unmanned aerial systems “have helped...
'The military has begun informally referring to unmanned aerial “systems” rather than “vehicles,” a change that will soon become official and in part is designed to stress the idea that the aircraft are just one facet in a complex...
'Swiss researchers have built a robotic aircraft with an 80-centimeter wingspan that flew indoors for about four minutes, detecting walls and automatically turning away from them, thanks to two one-gram cameras, a gyroscope, and a small microcontroller onboard. Why...
'Australia's future military operations will be supported by forces of robots and unmanned vehicles which will be highly integrated and controlled by defence personnel from a distance, Defence Minister Robert Hill said today. Speaking at the opening of the...
August 16, 2005
Cyber Defense Systems, Inc., a designer and developer of next generation unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's) and an operating subsidiary of Proxity, Inc. (Pink Sheets: PRXT), today announced it has begun shipment of the CyberBugTM to both US and international...
'Taiwanese companies Pegasus Aviation and Space Tek signed a partnership agreement at Taipei Aerospace & Defence Technology Exhibition (TADTE) with Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Defence Corporation (AIDC) to offer a micro unmanned air vehicle to Taiwanese military and civilian customers....
Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE: NOC) MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) completed data and image relay, video transmissions and supplied delivery to a remote location during a series of tests and demonstrations Aug. 1-3 at Arizona's Yuma Proving...
August 15, 2005
'China's first high-end and multi-functional remote sensing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made its successful test flight on Monday in Huangguoshu Airport, Anshun City, southwest China's Guizhou Province. The remote sensing system, jointly developed by Peking University and Guizhou Aviation...
'The noisy little plane sitting on the catapult at Camp Atterbury was not much bigger than radio-controlled planes enjoyed by hobbyists. As its gas-powered engine whined before take off Aug. 8, Staff Sgt. Dave Denton joked that it’s a...
'Lead Systems Integrators (LSI) Boeing and SAIC awarded four contracts to three premier industry partners for the first phase of development for two classes of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as part of the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS)...
'General Atomics Aeronautical Systems recently won a $214 million contract to develop the Army's new unmanned aircraft system. The San Diego-based company, which maintains test sites in the Antelope Valley, already produces the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV,...
August 13, 2005
'General Atomics Aeronautical Systems said Monday the US Army had awarded it a $214 million contract to deliver an Extended Range Multi Purpose Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system (ERMP). The contract launches a three-year system development and demonstration programme with...
'Australian UAV company Aerosonde Pty Limited has launched a new version of its highly successful Aerosonde Mk 3 Unmanned Air Vehicle. The Mk 3.2 involves major structural changes, with the wing, fuselage and tail now constructed primarily from pre-impregnated...
'Boeing Co. subsidiary Frontier Systems Inc. in Irvine, CA received a $50 million ceiling-priced indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) of the A-160 Hummingbird Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to assess...
'The Army has awarded a $214-million contract for development of an Extended-Range Multi-Purpose unmanned aerial vehicle named the “Warrior.” The ERMP Warrior will have the longest range of any UAV system in the Army, and its diesel-powered air vehicle...
August 12, 2005
'Iraqis in the northern city Mosul have made off with a top secret American spy plane. The U.S. military in Iraq said in a statement on Thursday that one of its “unmanned aerial vehicles” -- otherwise known as a...
'Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. delivered its first enhanced wing to prime contractor Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) on July 21 for the U.S. Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle (UAV). This wing was successfully tested to 100 percent limit...
'The government-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) announced Thursday that it will cooperate with two local companies to develop the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). AIDC Board Chairman Sun Tao-yu made the announcement during the signing of a letter of...
August 11, 2005
'Global Aerial Surveillance (OTC: GARS), a developer and manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for both commercial and military applications, announced today that it has successfully flight tested the Wraith XD-04E drone. The Wraith is an all-purpose reconnaissance UAV...
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has received a contract from the U.S. Air Force to deploy two production RQ-4A Global Hawk aerial reconnaissance systems early this fall. The air vehicles will join an advanced concept technology demonstration version of the...
'In the end, it was between the Warrior and the Hunter. Two companies - General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Northrop Grumman - were betting their aircraft had the capabilities to become the Army's Extended Range Multi-Purpose unmanned aerial vehicle....
August 10, 2005
Russia will buy from Britain two Scorpio underwater rescue vehicles of the type used to rescue a stranded Russian mini-submarine from the Pacific last Sunday, Itar-Tass news agency reported on Tuesday. It took less than four hours for the...
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has taken a significant step toward modernizing the U.S. Army's fleet of Hunter unmanned systems by conducting the first engineering flight of an enhanced, multi-mission variant of the current RQ-5A air vehicle called the...
August 09, 2005
'The UK Ministry of Defence and Thales UK have signed the long-awaited £700 million ($1.2 billion) contract for the development, manufacture and initial support of the Watchkeeper unmanned air vehicle system. The system is due to come into service...
'If Billy Robinson has his way, unmanned spy planes like the ones buzzing above Baghdad may soon be darting around the New York skyline. Robinson's Cyber Defense Systems made a splash earlier this year when it announced a demonstration...
August 06, 2005
A failed pilot bearing caused an MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle to crash in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility March 30, according to an Air Force report released Aug. 4. The Predator, assigned to the 57th Wing at...
The University of North Dakota has received two grants totalling $270,000 (USD) to research unmanned aerial vehicles. The grants came from the Federal Aviation Administration's Center of Excellence for General Aviation. Graduate students and faculty will research the ability of...
August 04, 2005
News Release: CLR Photonics, Inc. -- a world leader in the development of lidar-based remote-sensing solutions designed for airport, meteorological, and homeland security applications -- recently unveiled WindTracer(R) to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle market. Making its UAV market debut...
'The first-ever launch of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle from a surfaced submarine July 20 was a great success, proving the expanded utility of a technology already being used by United States Marines in Iraq. Despite its small size, the...
August 03, 2005
The BBC has a great article on UAVs as 'Eternal planes' to watch over us: 'But observing Earth from afar is not just about battlefields and spy missions, the type usually done by expensive and heavy craft like the...
PHX news has a features on Homeland Security and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles“ 'The current generation of unmanned aerial vehicles has been under development for defense applications since the 1980s, and as the Department of Defense transforms its military operations,...
August 02, 2005
'AAI Corporation, the defense subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation, has received a $129 million award from the U.S. Army for 12 additional Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) systems. Each system includes 4 advanced RQ-7B air vehicles, 2 ground...
'Flight testing of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works morphing unmanned air vehicle is being held up awaiting approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration to fly the radio-controlled subscale model. Repaired after being damaged in high-speed taxi tests in...
July 30, 2005
'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...
'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...
July 29, 2005
'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...
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...
'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...
July 27, 2005
'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...
'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....
July 26, 2005
'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...
'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 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...
'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...
July 25, 2005
'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...
July 24, 2005
'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...
'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....
'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...
July 22, 2005
'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...
'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...
'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...
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...
July 17, 2005
'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...
'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...
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...
'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...
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...
July 15, 2005
'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...
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...
July 14, 2005
'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...
July 13, 2005
'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...
July 12, 2005
'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 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....
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 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...
July 10, 2005
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...
July 09, 2005
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...
July 08, 2005
'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...
July 07, 2005
'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...
'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...
July 01, 2005
AeroVironment (AV), a world leader in the development of unmanned High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) aircraft, has successfully completed the worlds first liquid hydrogen powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flight tests. The fifty-foot wingspan prototype aircraft accomplished a major milestone in AVs...
June 30, 2005
A groundbreaking development programme led by prime contractor Thales UK has seen the successfully controlled flights of an Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) direct from a Royal Navy warship, marking the first time full UAV control from a warship has been...
June 24, 2005
We announced back on June 7 the White Knight was to carry the X-37 UAV. Today that happened. While the White Knight and X-37 pair have previously engaged in high-speed taxi tests, today the pair left the ground and went...
General Aviation News Blog has a post about an upcoming display of UAVs. Demonstrations and static displays include: Arcturus UAV - Arcturus; Aerovironment - Raven, Swift; BAI - Tern, Evolution; DoD UGVs - (I-Robot, Foster-Miller, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman); DRS -...
A company in Tucson, Arizona USA is currently developing UAVs smaller and lighter than ever before. The small UAVs can be "toss launched" and weight about 4.5 pounds. They have a 62 inch wingspan and can fly for about an...
June 23, 2005
Boeing and a team of flight control scientists from academia have demonstrated leading-edge flight control technologies that potentially could dramatically improve the mission effectiveness of advanced unmanned aerial vehicles. The effort is part of the Software Enabled Control program (...
June 17, 2005
Worldchanging reports on two solar powered UAVs. The AC Propulsion SoLong recently flew for 48 hours. The solar panels on the wings recharged the craft's batteries so they could power it for its secod night in the air. QinetiQ's Mercator...
June 16, 2005
Slate reports from the Paris Air Show on the growing UAV contingent. Peter van Blyenburgh is the president of UVS International, a nonprofit industry group that he founded 10 years ago. He may have a broader view of the industry...
June 15, 2005
Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works is investigating "morphing" airframes for the UAV of the future, allowing them to change flight characteristics for different phases of a mission. The technology explored through morphing enables other next-generation capabilities, including a submarine-launched unmanned aerial...
EDO MBM Technology Ltd, a business unit of EDO Corporation (NYSE:EDO), has launched a family of store carriage-and-release systems specifically developed for UAV platforms. Known as SABRE, it is a new generation of ultra lightweight, non-pyrotechnic, modular carriers. SABRE provides...
June 14, 2005
The International Tribune posted an article today reporting on the current state of UAVs as well as speculating on the future. The article talks about the safety aspects of UAVs, how they are being used today, the countries actively involved...
June 11, 2005
The results of an investigation into the crash of a Predator UAV in November of 2004 have been released. According to the report, pilot error was the final cause. Although the UAV's navigational system was malfunctioning, the investigators determined the...
Fearing a flare-up in North Korea at any time, the Defense Agency has abandoned plans for the domestic production of a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft and will purchase U.S.-made planes instead, sources said. They said the decision was made because...
June 08, 2005
By using existing UAV systems to aid Network Connectivity and its own aerial platform, the project will enable valuable UAV assets to enter service within short timescales to meet known user requirements and bring an array of additional functions to...
June 07, 2005
Space.com reports that Boeing's X-37 UAV will be carried by the White Knight built by Scaled Composites. The new pair have been undergoing high speed taxi tests in Mojave, California. No word yet on when any launches or drops will...
June 05, 2005
Cyber Defense Systems, Inc. (OTCBB:CYDF) announces their CyberBug(TM) was successfully deployed on Sunday April 17 for the Charles County Sheriff's Office to monitor the 12th Annual Southern Maryland "Blessing of the Bikes" event held at the Charles County Fairgrounds in...
June 04, 2005
'Israel the past two weeks has been utilizing a secret device to counter the growing threat of mortars and Qassam rockets Hamas regularly launches at the Jewish communities of Gaza – a pilotless drone that identifies and takes out...
'The Air Force plans to send two types of unmanned vehicles to Grand Forks Air Force Base, and pilots from the Fargo Air National Guard base will operate them from the ground, Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said Thursday. The...
'Northrop Grumman has started construction of its X-47B Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) aircraft, the world's first unmanned surveillance attack aircraft that can operate from both land bases and aircraft carriers. Production is taking place in the St....
The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School graduated the first of hopefully be many Unmanned Air Vehicle flight test short courses May 20 during a ceremony in the school's main auditorium. Seven lieutenants, all from Edwards, attended the ceremony. This...
June 01, 2005
'British researchers are turning to Linux and embedded processors to build a fleet of tiny, robotic helicopters capable of swarming like angry bees and evaluating their surroundings with a single hive mind. The University of Essex's UltraSwarm project is...
'Vought Aircraft Industries announced Monday that it has successfully tested to 100 percent limit load its first enhanced wing for the U.S. Air Force's new RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle (UAV) produced by Northrop Grumman. This testing, which...
May 29, 2005
ScanEagle, a long-endurance fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Boeing [NYSE:BA] and The Insitu Group, has surpassed 3,000 combat flight hours during operations in Iraq in just ten months. The low-cost UAV has proven to be one...
May 27, 2005
'The third demonstration of unmanned aerial vehicles is shaping up to be the largest yet. The flying demonstrations and static displays will be held June 27 at the Naval Air Station's Webster Field Annex. The theme is “Focusing Unmanned...
May 26, 2005
'A compromise has been reached with the US over the Harpy attack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), produced by Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. (IAI), which were sold to China. The Harpies China sent to IAI for what was called “repairs”,...
May 24, 2005
'Cyber Defense Systems has announced that on May 13 their CyberScout UAV performed its first transition flight from hover flight to forward flight. The CyberScout, a gas powered VTOL type vehicle, is the first in a series of planned...
Raythorn News Release: Raytheon Company has been awarded a $16.5 million U.S. Army contract to provide the electro-optic/infrared/laser designator payload for use on the Army's Extended Range Multi-Purpose (ERMP) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS)...
May 23, 2005
'The Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAV), which has gain an important position in Defence strategies including surveillance, would be now manufactured indigenously and an budget of Rs 500 crore has been earmarked for its research and development, a top Government...
May 21, 2005
'Senior executives from Boeing Unmanned Systems have offered UK aerospace and technology companies the opportunity to collaborate in exploiting the growing global interest in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). “As a company we are looking forward to a long and...
May 19, 2005
'The third demonstration of unmanned aerial vehicles is shaping up to be the largest yet. The flying demonstrations and static displays will be held Monday, June 27 at the Webster Field Annex of Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Md....
May 18, 2005
'The Global Hawk has performed well on missions over land, but has not been assigned to long-range surveillance of the world’s oceans. The Navy is beginning development of a concept of operations for the persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance...
May 17, 2005
'Some of the soldiers at Fort Drum are learning how to operate unmanned aerial vehicles. The Raven UAV is a small remote control aircraft with a video camera to provide soldiers with a look at what's ahead on the...
May 15, 2005
'Unmanned aerial vehicles are important to the Army and the U.S. Border Patrol. That connection is being demonstrated at this Southern Arizona Army post and the Border Patrol's Naco Station as soldiers and agents work together on reconnaissance flights...
'As part of a national military shakeup, the Grand Forks Air Force Base may see its tanker planes replaced by surveillance drones, which can record sharp images from 65,000 feet or carry missiles above a battlefield. North Dakota's congressional...
May 14, 2005
'A senior al Qaeda operative was killed by a missile fired from a CIA Predator aircraft on the Pakistani side of the remote area near the Afghan border earlier this week, U.S. intelligence officials told ABC News. The CIA...
May 13, 2005
'Israeli firm Steadicopter is claiming a breakthrough for its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). “This is the first system that can guide a helicopter through its entire flight without any human intervention,” said company CEO Amir Rochman. “There are miniature...
May 12, 2005
'The age of the mini-UAV started in 1987, when Dr Paul MacCready's AeroVironment company developed the Pointer, the first hand-launched, backpack-carried UAV. Pointer combined the airframe technology of a high-performance model sailplane with an electric motor and propeller, a...
'The days and nights of risking soldiers' lives on dangerous reconnaissance patrols may soon be over thanks to the Army's latest unmanned spy plane, the Raven Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The RQ-11A Raven UAV has also become a key piece...
May 11, 2005
'Alion Science and Technology Corp. in Chicago, IL won a $20 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for technical services to “develop an intelligent control system for swarming unmanned vehicles to demonstrate autonomous operations and cooperative behavior for persistent surveillance.”'...
'ScanEagle is a relatively low-cost robot aircraft at $100,000 a copy - but then, it was originally designed to find tuna schools not terrorists. The U.S. Marine Corps is currently using an upgraded version of the aircraft in Iraq,...
'The Stewart Airport Air National Guard Base will not become the home to the Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron. While all Air Guard bases in New York were considered, Governor George Pataki, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton and Congressman James...
'As part of its fight against terrorism, the Bush administration wants to block the export of technology you can find at your local camping store. In a testimony this week, a senior State Department official, Vann Van Diepen, told...
May 10, 2005
'US Army Aviation Association of America – opened its annual convention to over 8,000 attendees and – the association says – record increases in show space. Opening day coincided with an Army operation into Anbar Province, with inevitable heavy...
The Washington Times has an interesting article today on Unmanned Warfare including UAVs 'Ed Walby made an important trip in the history of unmanned warfare after al Qaeda attacked the United States on September 11. The Air Force colonel...
'A Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron will be located at Hancock Airfield near Syracuse. Gov. George Pataki and U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodman Clinton made the announcement jointly on Monday from the air field. Hancock was selected after a review...
Northrop Grumman News Release: Northrop Grumman Corporation has placed a purchase order with Aurora Flight Sciences of Manassas, Va., to produce the company's first Hunter II unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The order for the unmanned aircraft, which will serve...
May 07, 2005
'Kaman - once a fabled name in helicoper circles but lately a supplier of components - launches a bid to supply the Army with a medium-lift unmanned helicopter at the Quad Show in Orlando, Fl.. The company will announce...
May 04, 2005
'AAI Corp. in Hunt Valley, MD received a sole-source $9.9 million modification to a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering services for the RQ-7 Shadow 200 tactical unmanned aerial vehicle system. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, MD and is...
May 03, 2005
'Lockheed Martin, Aerosonde North America and Aerosonde announced last Thursday the establishment of a multinational strategic alliance to provide Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) solutions for domestic and international markets. “Our customers' future requirements demand innovative solutions that support their...
'Two unmanned aerial vehicle crashes during training at Fort Huachuca last month temporarily suspended flights while the incidents were investigated, army officials said. Flights of Shadow unmanned aerial vehicles, known as UAVs, resumed Friday after investigators determined the cause...
'One day on a gray-painted aircraft carrier tossed by turbulent seas, a grizzled Navy commander awaits the arrival of a new pilot. A teeny knock pings from the outside of the officer's watertight steel door. “Come in,” the commander...
May 02, 2005
AC Propulsion's solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle, the 'SoLong' (pictured left and below) has broken aviation records by flying for just over 24 hours straight fueled soley by battery and solar power. This UAV with a 15.6 foot (4.75m)...
'Unmanned Aerial Vehicles operated by the 2nd Infantry Division will be the first in the Army to meet the same standards as conventional aircraft, officials say. The 2nd ID’s Company B, Brigade Troops Battalion, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team,...
'Task Force Liberty soldiers used an unmanned aerial vehicle this morning to help track and detain two individuals who shot at coalition Forces encamped in Hawija, Iraq. Elsewhere, insurgents killed an American soldier in an attack in Khaladiyah today....
May 01, 2005
' An Israeli company has developed a unique unmanned aerial vehicle that could be a future homeland security defense tool. The craft does not have a pilot, not even one who controls it remotely from the ground. All aspects...
April 29, 2005
'Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News), Aerosonde North America, Inc., and Aerosonde Pty Limited today announced the establishment of a multinational strategic alliance to provide Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) solutions for domestic and international markets. “Our customers' future requirements...
April 28, 2005
'With a 10-foot wingspan, the ability to reach speeds of 65 mph, onboard cameras and heat-seeking devices, the Border Hawk could become the newest weapon in the government's effort to shut down illegal aliens and drug smugglers. That's what...
April 27, 2005
'NASA's pioneering work with unmanned aerial vehicles could boost the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's quest for life-saving atmospheric and environmental information. An Altair unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is pioneering climate and environmental research for NASA and the National...
'Aurora Flight Sciences announced today that its GoldenEye-50 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) performed multiple autonomous transitions from vertical to horizontal flight, and back again, during test flights last week. The flights validate Aurora's research, development, test, and evaluation of...
April 26, 2005
'Turkey's procurement office, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industry (SSM) has selected a team of Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Elbit for the supply of three UAV systems, a contract worth US$183 million. IAI-Elbit was competing with General Atomics Aeronautical...
April 25, 2005
'With a 10-foot wingspan, the ability to reach speeds of 65 mph, onboard cameras and heat-seeking devices, the Border Hawk could become the newest weapon in the government's effort to shut down illegal aliens and drug smugglers. That's what...
'Turkey announced on Tuesday it had chosen an Israeli manufacturer to supply its army with 10 drones and ground stations, ahead of a fence-mending visit to Israel by the Turkish prime minister. A joint venture between two Israeli firms,...
April 22, 2005
'U.S. scientists have tested a remotely operated aircraft that can stay aloft for long periods to monitor weather or climate data. Scientists working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Altair, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, is...
April 21, 2005
'Carving a deeper niche in the highly competitive market for unmanned aerial vehicles, Tucson-based Advanced Ceramics Research Inc. is working on a small UAV that can be launched from naval aircraft. Advanced Ceramics, 3292 E. Hemisphere Loop, is developing...
'The Boeing Co. in St. Louis, MO is being awarded a $14.5 million firm-fixed-price contract to provide “persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle services for a Naval Expeditionary Strike Group deployment and Gulf Oil Platform security in...
'FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLIR) announced today that it has received a contract from the US Army Research Development & Engineering Command (RDECOM), Communications-Electronics Research Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC), Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), valued at approximately...
April 18, 2005
Elbit Systems have won a contract estimated to be worth $200 million to supply unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the Turkish military. It emerges from the report, which quotes sources in Turkey's military industries, that the contract is expected...
'Israel has increased its air reconnaissance over Lebanon. Lebanese military sources said the Israel Air Force has increased flights into Lebanon over the last few days. The sources said the latest overflights appeared to be in retaliation for Hizbullah's...
'Efforts to create smaller and smaller UAVs has reached the point where the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are now field testing the seven ounce Wasp Micro Air Vehicle (MAV). This is a flat, rectangular “flying wing” (13 inch...
April 17, 2005
'The future home of Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems' Unmanned Services Center is still a framed artist's concept on the wall of the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation's office. Right now, the future home of the Fire Scout and Global...
'The Dragon Eye Tactical UAV was developed by the Marine Corps Warfighting lab in collaboration with Aerovironment which developed the Helios High Altitude Solar Electric UAV Just a few years since being designed at the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab,...
April 15, 2005
'The rapid growth in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market is expected to create rapid expansion in product and employment at Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems' Unmanned Services Center at Trent Lott International Airport, a company official said Thursday. The...
'GlobeTel Communications hopes to begin flight testing of its Sanswire One later this year over the California desert and is in discussions with NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. The prototype is 188 feet long,...
April 14, 2005
'Northrop Grumman has conducted the first flight of a new configuration of the U.S. Army's RQ-5A unmanned aerial vehicle system called the Endurance Hunter (E-Hunter). Conducted March 17 at a company flight test facility near Douglas, Ariz., the flight...
'Defense Contract Will Investigate Plane That Can Land on Waves, without Pilot Assistance 'The aerospace world is buzzing over a newly announced contract that could take unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to the high seas. And Geneva Aerospace, Inc., is...
BAE Systems has achieved the first untethered flight of its second-generation ducted-fan unmanned aerial vehicle. The vertical-launch aircraft, built for risk reduction on the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's (DARPA) Organic Air Vehicle Class II (OAV II) program, twice...
April 12, 2005
Here is a great photo of a great little Micro Flying Robot that weighs just 8.0 grams and is driven by four micro actuators to drive two rotors and stabilising units Source - Tiny robot helicopter unveiled in Japan...
'An unmanned drone sent across theIsrael-Lebanon border by Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas wasspotted over northern Israel on Monday, an Israeli militaryspokeswoman said. Israeli security sources said the small aircraft flew forseveral minutes over Israeli territory and then returned toLebanon before...
'Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrillas flew an unmanned surveillance drone over northern Israel on Monday, the guerrilla group and the Israeli army said. “In response to repeated and continuous enemy violations of Lebanese airspace, the surveillance plane Mersad 1 carried out...
'orthrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has conducted the first flight of a new configuration of the U.S. Army's RQ-5A unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system called the Endurance Hunter (E-Hunter). Conducted March 17 at a company flight test facility near Douglas,...
April 11, 2005
'Aurora Flight Sciences announced last Thursday that it delivered the first aft fuselage for the new RQ-4B model of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle to prime contractor Northrop Grumman. Under the previously announced Engineering and Manufacturing Development Phase...
April 08, 2005
'Unmanned robot planes which roam across the battlefield to hunt and kill the enemy are not the stuff of comic books. They are here, now, and proving so useful that the Pentagon is about to spend $13bn on a...
A video camera with wings is the way this little Micro Air Vehicle has been described (although no wings are in sight). It is set to become a part of some soldiers kit bags to help them do a...
'Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Melbourne, FL received a $5.5 million modification to a cost-plus-incentive-fee contract to add Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition and Laser Designation Functionality into the Airborne Standoff Minefield Detection System (ASTAMID) Block 1. This Army...
April 06, 2005
'There are now dozens of different types of drones in the Pentagon's arsenal. But you'd be hard-pressed to find one smaller than this Wasp Micro Air Vehicle (MAV), now being tested aboard the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group off Southern...
April 05, 2005
'A flying video camera could soon be part of a soldier's field gear--just the sort of thing you need if you want to know whether there's someone around the corner with a grenade launcher. Electronics giant Honeywell is testing...
'In the skies over Iraq, the number of remotely piloted aircraft - increasingly crucial tools in tracking insurgents, foiling roadside bombings, protecting convoys and launching missile attacks - has shot up to more than 700 now from just a...
Northrop Grumman Corporation's RQ-4 Global Hawk reached 4,000 combat hours on March 23 during an operational mission in support of the war on terrorism. Performing nearly continuous combat service with the U.S. Air Force since 2001, the high-altitude, long-endurance...
'With all the attention being paid to the projected increases in the MQ-1 Predator fleet and tests of the MQ-9 Predator B, other Umanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) may not get much attention. Recently, small business qualifier Aurora Flight Sciences...
April 04, 2005
' The earliest form of aerial reconnaissance dates back to the civil war, when the Union Army flew hydrogen filled balloons high above the battlefield to gain a greater vantage point. Today's aerial reconnaissance has come a long way...
April 03, 2005
'The US Air Force will expand its Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle fleet to as many as 15 squadrons in response to the escalating demand for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability in the war on terrorism. The plans are intended...
April 02, 2005
'An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Army, on a “routine surveillance mission”, crashed 28 km south of Bikaner in Rajasthan on Thursday night. “The accident took place due to a technical snag...there was no collateral damage,” said an...
April 01, 2005
'The submarine force conducted a demonstration here in February using a new type of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to test its utility for force protection. During the demonstration, a prototype UAV was launched and controlled by force protection personnel...
Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz discussed Israel's military relations with China with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. “Defense News”: The dispute is harming Israel's role in the development of the Joint Strike Fighter. Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz met...
March 31, 2005
'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...
'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...
March 30, 2005
'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...
'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...
March 29, 2005
'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...
'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...
March 28, 2005
'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...
'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,...
March 23, 2005
'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...
'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,...
'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...
March 22, 2005
'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...
'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...
March 21, 2005
'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...
'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...
'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...
March 20, 2005
'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...
'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...
March 19, 2005
'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...
'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...
'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...
March 18, 2005
'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...
'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...
'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...
March 17, 2005
'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...
March 16, 2005
'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...
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...
'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 —...
March 15, 2005
'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...
'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...
'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...
'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...
'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...
' 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...
'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...
March 14, 2005
'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...
March 13, 2005
'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...
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...
'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....
'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...
'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,...
'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...
March 11, 2005
'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...
'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....
March 07, 2005
'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...
'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...
March 04, 2005
'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...
'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...
'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...
March 02, 2005
'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...
February 27, 2005
'The next time you take a swat at a pesky flying insect, you might want to take a closer look. A new generation of bug-sized robots is being developed by the military, and soon enough they will be in...
February 25, 2005
'The third demonstration of multiple unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems will be held June 27 at the Webster Field Annex of Naval Air Station, Patuxent River. The event will be sponsored by the Program Executive Office for Strike Weapons...
February 23, 2005
Defence Tech reports that Robo-copters are getting mean 'For those of you worried that the Defense Department might have decided to bail on the idea of building an armed, robotic helicopter, don't fret. The dream of unmanned killer copters...
'As tensions mount between the United States and Iran over Tehran's nuclear activities, there are reports in the U.S. media suggesting that U.S. drones, or unmanned small aircraft, have been carrying out reconnaissance missions over the Islamic republic's territory....
February 21, 2005
'India is planning to develop a new jet fighter and a long-range version of an unmanned aircraft, defense officials said Feb 11. The “Lead-in Jet Fighter” is at the drawing board stage and would be a natural progression from...
The UAV and Unmanned Paradrone are to be used as part of an aerial surveillance system of oil refineries and pipelines. Pipelines often traverse difficult terrain and security issues may occur in hard to reach areas. By simply equipping...
Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems announced Friday it will expand its unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing facility that is nearing construction on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Officials broke ground about a year ago for the plant that will produce the Fire...
February 18, 2005
'Goebler-Hirthmotoren of Benningen, Germany is launching the world’s first 45kw fuel efficient heavy fuel aircraft engine for the global military UAV market. The Hirth heavy fuel aircraft engine project was started in June of 2004 in response to NATO’s...
February 16, 2005
'The U.S. Navy has invested over a billion dollars, so far, in developing combat UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) that can operate from aircraft carriers, and replace some of the manned aircraft on carriers. Final design and construction of the...
February 14, 2005
By Dawn's Early Light links to an article in the Washington Post on the US usage of UAVs in their watching of Iran's nuclear program from Iran....
February 13, 2005
'The Indian Army is buying 12 'Nishant' unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for reconnaissance and surveillance operations, while the Indian Air Force has also expressed interest in acquiring the indigenously developed UAV, a top DRDO official said today (Feb 11,...
February 11, 2005
'Northrop Grumman has begun ground and flight demonstrations of the new Hunter II medium altitude endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) it has proposed as the U.S. Army's next generation UAV system. The flights are being conducted at Libby Army...
February 05, 2005
'Naval engineers are honing in on their goal of developing a “swarm” of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with the capabilities needed to carry out key reconnaissance and other missions but at a cost low enough to make them...
February 02, 2005
'Compared to many aeronautical curiosities that have taken wing at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at California’s Edwards Air Force Base over the years, the latest military test stunts did not appear very remarkable. Last April, a low-slung aircraft,...
'Under the Armed VTOL UAV Technology Integration program, AATD has been using the Vigilante UAV to explore concepts of operation for armed manned-unmanned helicopter teams. UAVs may be used to scout ahead of manned helicopters, finding and watching threats,...
January 31, 2005
'A new NASA Tech Brief Technical Support Package (PDF format, free reg required), has been released containing new details and photos of the NASA initiative to develop insect-inspired flight control systems for UAVs. Among the list of techniques discussed...
January 30, 2005
'Israel is backtracking on its commitment made to India over 'reciprocal procurement' of defence-related items, wavering over the purchase of Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA), Lakshya, and Advanced Light Helicopter , Dhruv. “The Indian UAV (Lakshya) was one of the...
January 28, 2005
'Imagine a world with flying robots buzzing around overhead mapping traffic, or even searching for survivors during a natural disaster. This sounds like something straight out of a science fiction movie, but it is also the basis for research...
'The RQ-1 Predator is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which the U.S. Air Force describes as a “medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle system.” The aircraft can carry, and use, two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. The aircraft has been in use...
January 23, 2005
'The new modification of the Stroy-PD air reconnaissance system, fitted with the Pchela-1K UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle], is about to complete state tests. "The Defence Ministry is expected to return a preliminary conclusion on the feasibility of fielding the...
January 19, 2005
'The U.S. Navy is trying to harmonize its unmanned aircraft plans and is preparing to tweak its intelligence system in the coming months in response to guidance issued by the service's top officer. In a message to troops, Adm....
January 18, 2005
'Elad Kivelevitch, who is working towards his M.Sc. at Technion - Israel Institute of Technology under the guidance of Dr. Pini Gurfil of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, has developed an innovate and unique method of fighting terrorism, using...
January 16, 2005
'A small, self-guided glider, designed to fly at very high altitudes. The glider is carried up by its tail with a helium weather balloon to altitudes of up to 85,000 feet above sea level, and then released to fly...
'Melbourne, Australia, 6th July 2004. In a world first, truly autonomous, Intelligent Agent-controlled flight was achieved by a Codarra ‘Avatar’ unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The Avatar was guided by a JACKTM intelligent software agent that directed the aircraft’s autopilot...
January 13, 2005
'A leading German defense firm plans to market its new unmanned aerial vehicle to Gulf Cooperation Council members. Rheinmetall Defence Electronics plans to brief Gulf Arab and other potential clients on a new micro UAV for tactical military and...
January 11, 2005
'Boeing has demonstrated high-speed wireless communications technology developed by Harris aboard the ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) it is producing with The Insitu Group. According to sister publication Defense Daily, the ScanEagle, enabled by Harris Type 1 classified SecNet-11...
'For decades, Pentagon mad science division Darpa as been at the forefront of robotics research -- including, and especially, the development of killer drones. But there are signs that agency's work on armed robotic planes and copters could be...
January 10, 2005
'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...
January 07, 2005
'Netcom announced today that it has been approved by General Atomics to design and develop a Ku-Band Transceiver for the SAR-GMTI communication system, which is designed for the Lynx Fine Resolution Real-time Synthetic Aperture Radar project. A Synthetic Aperture...
January 06, 2005
'L-3 Communications announced Wednesday that it completed the acquisition of BAI Aerosystems, a maker of tactical UAVs for the US Marines. The transaction was completed December 21, 2004, financial terms of the were not disclosed. Headquartered in Easton, Maryland,...
January 05, 2005
'A U.S. military unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in Pakistan over the weekend leading to speculation about why the plane was there. The speculation points squarely to a U.S.-al Qaida showdown. The plane crashed in the tribal region of northwestern...
January 01, 2005
'The Firebee series of targets drones and RPVs (Remotely Piloted Vehicles) is one of the most successful and versatile unmanned aircraft developed so far. The latest versions are still in wide-spread service more than 50 years after the first...
December 26, 2004
University of California is developing technology that will hopefully allow helicopters to fly themselves and negotiate obsticals. 'The Berkeley Aerial Robot (BEAR) project passed a significant milestone earlier this month, when a 130-pound model of a helicopter successfully guided...
December 22, 2004
'The Indian army has deployed for the first time Israeli-built spy planes to track freedom fighters in Indian Held Kashmir, officials said. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) were first used over the Kishtwar mountain heights in southern Kashmir on December...
December 20, 2004
'For the first time ever, security forces — involved in counter-insurgency operations — in Jammu and Kashmir have pressed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to track down militants in Doda heights of Jammu region. Sources said the UAV was...
December 19, 2004
'The New York Times is reporting that lawmakers opposed to the highly classified $9.5 billion stealth satellite program alluded to by Senator Rockefeller are arguing that the United States should “rely much more heavily on high-flying unmanned aircraft to...
December 14, 2004
'Two military jets flying together may seem routine, but when they are pilotless, tail-less aircraft, routine goes out the window and science fiction springs to mind. Boeing continued to turn science fiction into reality when two X-45A technology demonstrator...
'EXPANDING roles and operational requirements have spurred technology development in almost every aspect of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems, observed Malati Limary, Group Director of the Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE). On the second and concluding day of...
December 10, 2004
'U.S. engineers working to develop unmanned aerial vehicles that can help detect and fight forest fires. Engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory are testing the use of flocks of small UAVs equipped...
December 09, 2004
'Hundreds of miles from the legendary California research centers where pioneering aircraft like the supersonic X-1 were put through their paces, National Aeronautics and Space Administration representatives are pushing the envelope in the Idaho desert with a very different,...
December 08, 2004
'Aurora Flight Sciences announced today that an industry team it leads has been selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for an award under the Organic Air Vehicle - II (OAV-II) competition. The OAV-II program will develop...
'Development costs for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle program have tripled as the Defense Department has sought additional capabilities for the aircraft resulting in the production of fewer units than originally planned, according to a Government Accountability Office...
'Aurora Flight Sciences announced today that an industry team it leads has been selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for an award under the Organic Air Vehicle - II (OAV-II) competition. The OAV-II program will develop...
'The Pentagon has embarked on a chancy strategy to quickly roll out a new generation of Global Hawk reconnaissance planes, the Government Accountability Office says in a report released Monday. The GAO wants the Defense Department to delay Global...
December 02, 2004
'The Air Force today announced it's placing a squadron of Predator unmanned aerial vehicles with the Texas Air National Guard. Putting the drones in Texas is an effort by the Air Force to modernize active duty forces, while winnowing...
December 01, 2004
'The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded $8.7 million to three vendors to build prototype unmanned aircraft for the Army’s Future Force unit. Honeywell International Inc.’s defense and space electronics systems unit of Albuquerque, N.M., received $3.9 million;...
November 30, 2004
'A robotic airplane called ScanEagle has done more than 1,000 hours of intelligence and reconnaissance work for the Marines in Iraq, its developers said. It was developed and built by the St. Louis-based defense unit of Boeing Co. and...
November 25, 2004
'A U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in eastern Afghanistan Wednesday, the military said. The UAV crashed over eastern Paktya province and mechanical problems are believed to be the cause, the Combined Military Command announced. It was not brought down by...
November 24, 2004
'Unmanned plane to stay at Beale The Air Force's first production RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance plane has arrived at its new home at Beale Air Force Base in Northern California. Designated AF-3, the unmanned aerial vehicle arrived after a...
November 20, 2004
'Hizbullah reveals new details of its new Iran-designed UAV Hizbullah has provided additional information about its new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Hizbullah Secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah said the Mirsad-1 UAV has a payload of up to 50 kilograms. Nasrallah told...
November 18, 2004
'Israeli security sources on Wednesday denied a report by France's TF1 television station that accused Israeli mercenaries of operating spy drones in the war-torn Ivory Coast, but confirmed that a private Israeli company had supplied unmanned aerial vehicles to...
'Unmanned aerial vehicles and other so-called "stand-off" weapons, whether currently used or in secret testing, belong to a developing high-tech arsenal that the U.S. military says will help minimize casualties as it battles insurgents. Most of the systems are...
'Several competing unmanned aerial vehicle missions are likely to be proposed for flight on Mars in NASA's next Scout competition, according to Andy Gonzales, program manager for NASA Ames Research Center's MATADOR project. Set to begin in roughly a...
'The next war could be fought partly by unmanned aircraft that respond to spoken commands in plain English and then figure out on their own how to get the job done, even dodging enemy aircraft as they carry out...
November 17, 2004
'The first production RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle has arrived at its new home at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. Designated AF-3, the UAV arrived on Oct. 28 following a short ferry flight from the Birk Flight...
'Northrop Grumman Corporation has opened a new system integration laboratory (SIL) to help identify any potential hardware, software or system cost issues related to the development of its X-47B combat unmanned air vehicle long before the first air vehicle...
November 15, 2004
'BY the light of flashlights and a crescent moon, the three-member crew catapults a 136kg pilotless airplane into the sky. Minutes later, other US soldiers behind a computer screen inside a shed monitor video images from the plane, known...
November 14, 2004
'The Border Patrol has started testing a second type of unmanned plane for surveillance wo