sUAS News

ITM Power, UK company to develop off grid charging for Boeing UAS

Gary Mortimer — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:34:49 +0000

Perhaps pointing to an electric version of the ScanEagle or a new platform? Equipment Development and Lease Agreement with Boeing ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, announces that it has signed an Equipment Development and Lease Agreement with Boeing Research & Technology Europe S.L.U. “Boeing” for the development, assembly and field trials of a 1Nm3/hr (2.1kg/day) PEM electrolyser. The containerised electrolysis equipment will form part of Boeing’s current off-grid refuelling station for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“UAS”). During the last few years the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) industry/sector has seen sustained growth, mainly through the development and maturing of military applications and followed by wide recognition of their possibilities in civilian applications which include: border control, coastguard, law enforcement, pipeline and powerline monitoring, earth and environmental observations, communications and many more. These systems can potentially offer lower cost and investment risk as well as low infrastructure requirements for tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISAR). ITM Power CEO, Dr. Graham Cooley, commented: “ITM Power has had a dialogue with Boeing Research & Technology –Europe for several years and actually completed some of the early ground work that led to the inception of the off-grid solar-based refuelling station for UAS that [...]

Sagem Wins Maintenance Contract for Sperwer UAVs Deployed by French Army

Gary Mortimer — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:31:47 +0000

Paris | Sagem (Safran group) has just signed a contract with SIMMAD*, on behalf of the French Ministry of Defense, to provide in-service maintenance for the Sperwer SDTI tactical drone systems deployed by the French army. The contract covers all maintenance, repair and technical support services for systems in service with the army until 2014. It also includes an order with Robonic Oy, the Finnish subsidiary of Sagem, for two Kontio towed pneumatic catapult systems (type MC2555LLR). Lighter and smaller than the first-generation catapults, these units will reduce the system’s footprint, decrease operating costs, facilitate catapult operations, and increase the payload to extend the drone’s endurance. In addition to the new catapults, Sagem has made other upgrades to improve the system’s capabilities and meet the army’s evolving needs: integration of NATO standard 4609 interoperability modems in the ground stations, higher-performance aircraft, and the delivery of portable remote video terminals (RVT) to improve image reception. Sagem’s Dijon and Poitiers plants will produce the optronics modules for this contract, while the company’s Montluçon plant will work on the ground segment and the aircraft. Sperwer drones have been deployed in Afghanistan since 2003 to support NATO’s air-land forces. In the French army, they [...]

Northrop Grumman BAMS Unmanned Aircraft System Program Achieves Two Major Milestones

Gary Mortimer — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 06:47:04 +0000

U.S. Navy Sensor Flight Testing Begins and First MQ-4C Receives Its Wings Northrop Grumman Corporation has commenced flight tests of the first developmental multifunction active sensor (MFAS) radar destined for the U.S. Navy’s MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System (BAMS UAS). The MFAS sensor has been integrated into the company’s Gulfstream II testbed aircraft based in Palmdale, Calif., for flight testing after having completed ground station testing in late November at the company’s Electronics Systems facility. Marking another milestone, the first BAMS aircraft has received its wings and is standing on its own gear at the company’s Palmdale Manufacturing Center in California. Photos accompanying this release are available at http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/mediagallery.html?pkgid=11801 “These two important milestones demonstrate continued program maturity leading us to first flight later this year,” said Duke Dufresne, sector vice president and Unmanned Systems general manager. “Our unmanned systems are providing the U.S. Navy and other customers with affordable, combat-proven high altitude, long endurance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance solutions.” Over the next several months, testing of the MFAS radar will be broken down into three phases; radar integration, mode integration and refinement, and data collection. Each phase tests the various capabilities and modes of the radar that will [...]

UAS spending in Asia set to increase

Gary Mortimer — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 18:26:48 +0000

SINGAPORE: They are deadly, hard to detect and fast becoming one of the most sought-after weapons in the air defence industry. Global demand for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), better known as drones, is heating up as armed forces invest in new systems to boost their ability to carry out reconnaissance and strikes without putting soldiers’ lives in danger. Propelled by a rise in Asian defence budgets, annual global spending on UAVs is forecast to almost double from the current $5.9 billion to $11.3 billion over the next decade, according to US-based defence research firm Teal Group. The Asia Pacific is the second largest buyer after the United States. “Almost every country in the region is trying to get their hands on drones or develop their own … Thailand, India, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Korea,” said Jon Grevatt of IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly. Home to more than half the world’s population, Asia also has some of the biggest potential flashpoints from North Korea, to the South China Sea, South Asia and Afghanistan. “UAVs are necessary in this age when you want to win wars and at the same time you want to have less casualties,” said Tommy Silberring, who heads the drone [...]

Send in the drones

Gary Mortimer — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:15:08 +0000

By Mary Lochner Anchorage Press Greg Walker is Alaska’s drone man. When the U.S. Coast Guard flew war drones in 2003 and 2004 out of King Salmon to test them for maritime border monitoring, Walker was there. When BP wanted to know if unmanned aircraft could identify oil spill contamination, it went to Walker. When fishermen fighting closures wanted to use drones to get more accurate seal population counts, Walker was their man. Oil companies, survey companies, biologists, government agencies: they all come to Walker’s Unmanned Aircraft Applications Program at University of Alaska Fairbanks to try out their drones. That’s due to the team’s expertise in testing drones for non-military uses. But it’s also because some of the groups aren’t allowed to fly drones themselves. Under Federal Aviation Administration rules, only certain organizations, such as government agencies and universities, are allowed to operate unmanned aircraft, called unmanned aerial systems (UAS) by the federal government. Anyone else wanting to try the wings or rotors of a drone has to lease it to an authorized user. And even then, with few exceptions, approved drone operators have to get permission from the FAA each time they fly. Read more Bookmark It Hide Sites $$('div.d12399').each( function(e) [...]

Lost and Found

admin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:08:49 +0000

Aside from standard gathering operations, the UAV Squadron deals with other everyday issues. The First UAV Squadron and Search & Rescue Unit conducted a joint training session that simulated a scenario in which they must find missing persons Mai Efrat This was not an everyday operation. UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) operators are used to searching for other targets and gathering intelligence information. This time while sitting in a trailer, they aren’t looking for suspicious cars, missile launchers, or ammunition storage rooms. They are searching the ground for a parachute, an ejection seat or parts of a crashed airplane. As morning hours came around a report was received: an F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft has crashed within Israeli territory. An aerial team member is injured while it seems that the other one died. The 669 Search & Rescue unit showed up at the approximated location along with an exploratory committee as the members of the First UAV Squadron hurried into trailers hoping that the bird’s eye view will shed some light on the current situation. Racing Against Time We are obviously facing a training exercise. The fragments don’t belong to an actual aircraft that crashed just like the dolls planted in the [...]

HTS-iView, telemetry from Hitec

Gary Mortimer — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:41:01 +0000

Independent flight following for those with Apple products and Hitec Radios, not for everyone then. Pretty cheap at $49.99 though. Hitec is proud to introduce the latest addition to our suite of telemetry products, the HTS-iView. HTS-iView, telemetry interface for use with Apple® products. Our HTS-iView seamlessly integrates advancements in portable computing with the world of radio control, bringing real-time telemetry data to your Apple® devices such as the iTouch, iPhone and iPad. With the applicable onboard sensors and airborne sensor station, the iView can display your model’s GPS-based altitude, location, distance and speed data, four temperature and two RPM readings, as well as remaining fuel level, current draw, voltage, wattage and receiver battery levels. Whether you are an enthusiastic pilot demanding comprehensive feedback during flight or an everyday sport flier looking for that added information, the HTS-iView puts the world of telemetry at your fingertips. Take advantage of the ever-changing world of communication technology with the latest from Hitec! Features: • General and Detailed Telemetry Data Display • GPS-Based Information: Speed/Altitude/Distance/Longitude/Latitude • Four Temperature Data • Two RPM Readings • Fuel Gauge Information • Battery Current Draw • Battery Voltage Level • Data Save and Replay Function • Programmable Audible [...]

Is the UAS flying over Syria, Iranian or South African?

Gary Mortimer — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:48:39 +0000

Speculation abounds online that the UAS caught by an amateur cameraman flying over Kafr Batna on valentines day is either a variant of the Iranian Mohajer or a new platform altogether, being called at the moment ”Pahpad” which is the Persian equivalent of UAV. The drone would very likely be a Syrian government airframe. Iran has defied arms embargoes and exported several unmanned systems to Sudan and a similar mystery airframe was spotted there. A UN “Panel of Experts”, based in Addis Ababa and entrusted by the UN Security council with the task of monitoring the arms embargo imposed on Darfur, mentions in its report from October 2009 a Dubai-based company, owned by a UAE national and run by Iranian citizens, having supplied a video recorder, called Flash Back 2, to the Sudanese military, which installed it on a UAV to survey the region of Darfur. This piece of equipment had been originally manufactured by “Ovation Systems, based in the UK, and sold to a company called Mousaei Product Company, based in the UAE. The “Panel of Experts” revealed that this name is fictitious, while the actual company behind the order was Millennuim Product Company LLC. The company is registered in the UAE and [...]

Cosworth & ST Aerospace form strategic alliance for heavy fuel UAS engines in Asia

Gary Mortimer — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:14:24 +0000

Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd (ST Aerospace) and Cosworth Group (Cosworth) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop heavy fuel engine systems for unmanned systems customers in the Asia Pacific markets. The technical alliance will leverage ST Aerospace’s expertise in propulsion-to-airframe integration and operator HMI requirements, alongside Cosworth’s class-leading heavy fuel engine technology, for incorporation into the final engine systems, to bring greater value to customers in the region. Tim Routsis, Chief Executive, Cosworth Group: “Our alliance with ST Aerospace is an exciting development for our lightweight heavy fuel engine programmes which have already gained significant momentum from our work with the US DoD and UK MoD. There is clearly an appetite for products that can deliver the power density and reliability required by airframe integrators and defence forces around the world, as they focus their sights on unmanned systems. Working together with ST Aerospace will enable Cosworth to demonstrate that our products are the right choice for customers in the rapidly growing Asian market”. Chang Cheow Teck, President, ST Aerospace: “We are excited at the collaboration with Cosworth. With complementary capabilities, we are looking forward to developing a highly reliable and efficient engine system for the UAV operators.” [...]

UAF uses unmanned aerial vehicles for dangerous research

admin — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 17:45:41 +0000

Extreme climate and geography can cause problems for researchers throughout the Alaska wilderness. Because of this, scientists risk life and limb when collecting data via manned aircraft. In order to introduce the Fairbanks community to new technology, the UAF Geophysical Institute is hosting their annual Science for Alaska lecture series. The first lecture educated the audience about the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The audience at the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel & Conference Center fell silent as Greg Walker, UAF unmanned aircraft research project lead, took the floor and explained how his team accomplishes research missions by using UAVs. Walker is the manager of the Poker Flats Research Range, a division of the UAF Geophysical Institute, and has been designing and making control systems for unmanned aircraft since 1998. http://www.uafsunstar.com/?p=10435 Bookmark It Hide Sites $$('div.d12336').each( function(e) { e.visualEffect('slide_up',{duration:0.5}) });