Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
eVTOL Maker Volocopter Gains EASA DOA
EASA has granted urban air mobility OEM Volocopter Design Organization Approval (DOA).
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
First Flight for Leonardo's Falco Xplorer UAV
At around twice the size of earlier Falco platforms, the Xplorer is a high-end tactical ISR system with all its major elements created in-house.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Gremlins Air Vehicle Takes Flight
Dynetics performed the first free flight test of its X-61A Gremlins air-launched, air-recoverable UAS in November 2019.
Safety
Proposed FAA Remote ID Rules Offer Framework for UAS Airspace Integration
New FAA rules would require most unmanned aircraft to share their position and identity with other airspace users.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Swift Awarded $17 Million Bahamas UAS Contract
Swift Tactical Systems has won a $17 Million contract to provide Bahamas government agencies with an unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) program.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Silent Falcon Solar Electric E1 Completes 500 Flight Hours
UAS manufacturer Silent Falcon’s solar electric E1 UAV has completed 500 hours of flight testing.
Rotorcraft
Bell AerOS Shows How Urban Air Mobility Flies
Bell is demonstrating how a smart city of the future could incorporate urban air mobility vehicles running under autonomous control.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Indonesia Launches Domestically-built Armed UAV Program
Indonesia’s first large UAV is due to fly for the first time this year, with production planned to get under way in 2024.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Lockheed Martin Teaming On UAS Airspace Tools
Lockheed Martin is teaming with Canadian UAVs to provide real-time situational awareness for beyond visual line of sight flights.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Terra Drone Expands Into Mining
Japan's Terra Drone is forming a Canadian arm to serve the mining industry with UAS inspection and mapping services.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
EASA Drone Conference Focuses on Societal Concerns
Safety, noise, and privacy issues must be solved before realizing a vision where drones provide urban transportation and package deliveries.
Rotorcraft
Study: 430,000 Urban Air Taxis By 2040
A new Frost & Sullivan study predicts urban air taxis will begin operations in 2022 and grow to a worldwide fleet of 430,000 by 2040.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
PrecisionHawk Raises $32 Million More
Drone services and analytics company PrecisionHawk has raised $32 million of new investment to finance new artificial intelligence tool.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Turkey’s New Raider Takes to the Air
Baykar has built on the success of its Bayraktar TB2 tactical UAV to develop a much larger, armed platform to answer a Turkish forces requirement.
Rotorcraft
Drone Hits Newscopter over L.A.
Los Angeles ENG A-Star lands safely after drone hits vertical stabilizer.
Airports
Wichita Airport To Train Ops Officers As Drone Pilots
The decision to train Wichita Eisenhower National Airport staff as drone operators comes after successful proof-of-concept flights this summer.
Regulations and Government
FAA Expands LAANC Drone Program
FAA's LAANC expands to four major airports, seven more service providers.
Safety
Errant Drone Pilot Fined $20,000
Reuben Burciaga was fined $20,000 by the FAA after his out-of-control drone landed next to Las Vegas runway.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
AIA Urges Capitol Hill To Finish Funding, Ex-Im Bills
AiA's Fanning said the workforce and economy can’t afford the prospect of continued stopgap funding or another government shutdown.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
China Shows Armed Rotary-wing UAS
The U8EW UAS can be employed for a range of battlefield missions, including reconnaissance and precision attack.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Skydweller Launches with Leonardo Investment
With Leonardo 's assistance, Skydweller Aero is developing an unmanned long-endurance solar-powered platform based on the Solar Impulse 2 aircraft.
Aircraft
Boeing Makes Progress on NeXt Big Things
Three electric aircraft projects—the Passenger Air Vehicle, Cargo Air Vehicle, and Odysseus UAV—are gaining momentum at Boeing's NeXt unit.
Environment
Falcon Plans Urban Mobility Terminal for Expo 2020
The special-purpose terminal designed by Falcon Aviation is suited to all rotorcraft types, but especially the AW609 Tiltrotor.
Training and Workforce
Cherokees Tap FlightSafety for UAS Training
Cherokee Nation Strategic Programs (CNSP) has selected FlightSafety International (FSI) to provide unmanned systems training.
Airports
House GOP Leaders Oppose DHS-operated C-UAS at Airports
U.S. Reps. Graves and Rogers say DHS's ability to operate C-UAS is "sorely lacking."
Rotorcraft
Airbus's VSR700 Rotary-wing UAV Takes Flight
The VSR700 unmanned helicopter is intended to serve onboard vessels of the French navy to extend their surveillance horizon
Regulations and Government
GAO Recommends FAA Improve UAS Oversight
The FAA’s compliance and enforcement approach for drones could benefit from improved communication and data, according to a GAO report.
Safety
Study: Encroaching Drones Usually Not Seen by Pilots
Pilots approaching a runway usually can’t see small unmanned aircraft systems encroaching on their airspace, an academic study says.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Lockheed Laser Lances Drones
Lockheed Martin's Athena anti-drone laser successfully defeated multiple targets during a recent USAF demonstration.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
BVLOS Approval For NY UAS Test Site
New York's UAS test site in Rome has been granted FAA beyond visual line of sight operations approval.
