Boeing, Textron Given Shots At $475 Million SOCOM Drone Services Contract
U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) on June 7 announced that Boeing’s [BA] Insitu unmanned systems arm and Textron’s [TXT] AAI Corp. both share in a multiple-award contract for providing unmanned...
View ArticleHEICO Acquires Composites Manufacturer Carbon By Design
Aerospace and electronics manufacturer HEICO Corp. [HEI] on Tuesday said it has acquired Carbon by Design, a manufacturer of composite components for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), rockets, spacecraft...
View ArticleTextron Eyes Endurance Upgrade To Vertical Takeoff Variant of Aerosonde UAS
Textron [TXT] Systems, which unveiled a kit last year that converts its Aerosonde small unmanned aircraft system into a vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) UAS, is now developing a longer-endurance...
View ArticleAir Force Seeking Authority To Counter Drones At U.S. Bases
The U.S. Air Force is seeking authority to use anti-drone equipment to defend against small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that accidentally or intentionally fly onto its homeland bases, according to...
View ArticleLeonardo Joins Army Effort To Defeat Small Enemy Drones
The Army awarded Leonardo DRS a $16 million contract to fill an urgent operational need for systems that can detect and destroy enemy unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Leonardo has teamed with Moog Inc....
View ArticleBorder Patrol Plans Small UAS Evaluations This Year
The Border Patrol in September plans to conduct operational tests of three different types of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) at different border locations to help evaluate requirements and...
View ArticleAutonomous Systems Are ‘Next Wave’ For Coast Guard, Zukunft Says
The Coast Guard is a “decade behind” where it needs to be in terms of fielding and operating unmanned systems, particularly in the areas of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), the...
View ArticleUnmanned Systems Featured In Coast Guard’s Arctic Technology Evaluation
The Coast Guard is evaluating several types of unmanned systems during this summer’s annual Arctic Technology Evaluation aboard the medium icebreaker Healy, including surface, subsurface and aircraft...
View ArticleMDA Director: Systems Can Defend U.S. From North Korean ICBMs
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- The U.S. ballistic missile defense forces are capable today of defending against North Korean ballistic missile threats but are still developing future capabilities for future...
View ArticleGeneral Atomics’ MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft Completes FAA-Approved Flight
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is one step closer to receiving full certification to deploy its MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) for NATO use after successfully completing a...
View ArticleBattelle, Dedrone Partner For Comprehensive Counter UAS Solution
Battelle and a small company that has developed a drone tracking software platform have agreed to partner on an end-to-end counter unmanned aircraft system (UAS) solution. The non-exclusive memorandum...
View ArticleCoast Guard Surveys Market For Land-Based, Long-Range UAS
The Coast Guard on Wednesday issued a Request for Information for land-based high-endurance drone aircraft to help it examine the potential of these systems to patrol vast ocean areas for illegal drug...
View ArticleBorder Patrol Begins Operational Testing Of Small UAS
The Border Patrol is beginning operational tests of field proven, rapidly deployable small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) with a goal of improving the situational awareness and safety of its agents...
View ArticleOperational Demands Limit Readiness Of Air Force RPA Operators
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.--The constant pace of Air Force unmanned aircraft operations in war zones is limiting the readiness of the crews that operate these systems, the head of Air Combat Command said...
View ArticleAir Force To Test Directed Energy Weapons Against Small Drones
The U.S. Air Force plans to conduct an experiment in fiscal year 2018 using directed energy weapons to counter small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The experiment will seek to determine whether...
View ArticleDoD Office Launches Swarm Of 103 Micro UAVs
The U.S. Department of Defense’s Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) launched a swarm of 103 Perdix micro unmanned air vehicles from three F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft during a recent West Coast test,...
View ArticleVanilla Aircraft Eyes Larger Versions Of Long-Duration UAV
Vanilla Aircraft, whose small, diesel-powered VA001 unmanned aerial vehicle set a flight duration record late last year, is developing two larger aircraft that could carry heavier payloads to meet...
View ArticleNavy To Issue Draft RFP For MQ-25 Carrier Drone In Spring
The Navy says it expects to release a draft request for proposals (RFP) this spring for its future MQ-25 carrier-based unmanned aircraft. A final RFP will follow in the summer, and a development...
View ArticleDrones Swarm And Skirmish In Navy Test
The U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) recently pitted two swarms of small unmanned aerial vehicles against each other in what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind demonstration, a Navy official...
View ArticleDHS To Evaluate Counter-Small UAS Technologies
The Department of Homeland Security this summer plans to begin assessing systems that can be used to detect, identify and track small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) in urban areas, giving technology...
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