Tagged: Military
Kaman K-MAX Advances Civil and Military Autonomous Flight Programs
Kaman Air Vehicles, a division of Kaman Corporation, has announced the advancement of its military and commercial K-MAX Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) programs. Kaman continues the development of the next generation of K-MAX UAS to support US Marine Corps future operating concepts. These logistics systems add flexibility and speed of
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Navy’s first MQ-4C Triton drones arrive in Guam
Washington DC (UPI) Jan 27, 2020 –
The first squadron of the U.S. Navy’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial system arrived in Guam for their initial deployment, the Navy announced on Monday.
The two-aircraft squadron, with two more aircraft expected to join, is stationed at Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base under control of
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Shotgun-like Ammo Could Shield LCS from Drones
Naval ordnance experts will be testing heavy weapons precision ammunition, that could hit enemy drones “like a shotgun blast,” offering a counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) shield for littoral combat ships (LCS). Rogue civilian drones and enemy attack and surveillance UAS are a growing concern across the military, especially after swarms
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Armed Drone Proliferation Update, January 2020
The third of our twice-yearly updates details new operators and other significant developments around the proliferation of armed drones. For our complete list of states operating, or close to operating, armed drones see Who Has Armed Drones? France undertakes first drone strikes As was long been expected, the French
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AFRL XQ-58A Valkyrie expands flight envelope in fourth test
Wright-Patterson AFB CO (SPX) Jan 27, 2020 –
The Air Force Research Laboratory, along with partner Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, Inc., completed the successful fourth flight test of the XQ-58A Valkyrie low-cost unmanned air vehicle demonstrator Jan. 23, 2020, at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.
During the test event, the Valkyrie demonstrator’s
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Blackjack Fielding Complete for US Navy, Marine Corps
The fielding of the RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned aerial system achieved full operational capability in 2019, the US Navy’s program manager said. Col. John Neville, the Blackjack’s program manager for the Program Executive Office-Unmanned and Strike Weapons, told Seapower at the Surface Navy Association gathering here that all 21 systems for
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US Navy Builds Aircraft Carrier Drone Headquarters
The US Navy is building a special new command and control mini “drone-headquarters” space on its aircraft carriers to operate deck-launched drones as part of a strategy aimed at massively increasing the scope of carrier-launched drone missions in coming years. Launching drones from carriers represents an unprecedented technical leap for
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Intro to Multispectral Imaging
Originally developed for military target identification and reconnaissance, multispectral imaging uses specific wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum to document environmental features of interest. Early NASA imaging of Earth from space incorporated multispectral imaging technology to map details related to oceans, landforms, and vegetation. More recently, modern weather satellites now produce
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Czech Army Creates Unmanned Systems Battalion
The Czech army has launched its new 533 Unmanned Systems Battalion. Currently the country’s armed forces operate a number of small drones, but according to Chief of the General Staff Aleš Opata, the army will soon buy at least one larger, heavier unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), capable of both reconnaissance
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Littoral Combat Ship Will Test Laser Weapon
The US Navy will put a laser weapon on a Littoral Combat Ship for the first time this year, amid efforts to boost the LCS’s lethality and to develop and field a family of laser systems. USS Little Rock (LCS-9) will receive a laser weapon during its upcoming deployment, Commander
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As Iran missiles battered Iraq base, US lost eyes in sky
Ain Al-Asad Air Base, Iraq (AFP) Jan 15, 2020 –
Moments after volleys of Iranian missiles began to batter Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase, US soldiers at the desert facility lost contact with their ultra-powerful — and expensive — eyes in the sky.
At the time the attack was launched at 1:35
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Countdown to death: Trump details Soleimani’s end
Washington (AFP) Jan 18, 2020 –
Cameras “miles in the sky”, a countdown and then “boom”: US President Donald Trump has recounted the final moments of Iran’s powerful General Qasem Soleimani in an American drone strike.
Trump delivered the account Friday night to Republican Party donors gathered at his Florida residence
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Falco Xplorer first flight
The Falco Xplorer S/N0001 took off from Trapani Air Force base on January 15, cruised over the Gulf of Trapani in a dedicated fly zone, for around 60 minutes and then returned to base, landing safely. The maiden flight is a significant milestone which has been achieved through technical and
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Chinese Drone Crashes in Cambodia
The Cambodian Air Force is still investigating the drone which crashed on Friday in Koh Kong province’s Kiri Sakor district amid shrouding mystery. Air Force commander General Soeng Samnang yesterday said his working team is still conducting a probe into it. “I believe when the drone was flown for testing,
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Sierra Technical Services Completes Engine Run Testing on 5GAT Drone
Sierra Technical Services, Inc. (STS) achieved a major milestone on the 10th of January with the completion of Engine Run Testing on the 5th Generation Aerial Target (5GAT). The 5GAT contract is administered by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Contracting Office (USACE) located in Sacramento, CA and is managed
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Leonardo’s Falco Xplorer Completes First Flight
Leonardo has announced the maiden flight of its new Falco Xplorer drone aircraft. Falco Xplorer. S/N0001 took off from Trapani Air Force base on January 15, cruised over the Gulf of Trapani in a dedicated fly zone, for around 60 minutes and then returned to base, landing safely. The maiden
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Fulmar Chooses UAV Navigation Autopilots
Fulmar is a marinized UAV developed by the Spanish manufacturer Wake Engineering (formerly known as Aerovision). This unique UAV can be launched from a vessel and is currently used by the Spanish Army, among others. Fulmar makes use of a powerful flight control system that was developed by UAV Navigation,
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Novadem Supplies NX70 Micro-UAVs to Marseille’s Navy Firefighters
The Marseille’s Navy Firefighters Battalion will count in a few weeks among its staff a team specialized in robotics support who will implement a fleet of four Novadem micro-UAVs. “This team will be endowed with urban and off-road vehicles that will allow for engagement, multi-sensor coordination and image-based intelligence”, outlines
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Wake Engineering platform FULMAR chooses UAV Navigation autopilots
Fulmar is a marinized UAV developed by the Spanish manufacturer Wake Engineering (formerly known as Aerovision). This unique UAV can be launched from a vessel and is currently used by the Spanish Army, among others. Fulmar makes use of a powerful flight control system that was developed by UAV Navigation,
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Faulty Engine Design Caused MQ-9 Crash
An MQ-9 Reaper’s engine design led the drone to crash about 20 minutes after takeoff while deployed overseas in September 2018, a recently released Air Force accident investigation concluded. Airmen suspected the remotely piloted aircraft, assigned to the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon AFB, N.M., and flown by a
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The Marseille’s Navy Firefighters Battalion acquires a fleet of Novadem NX70 micro-UAVs
In 2020, Novadem NX70 micro-UAVs will be used to support operations of the prestigious Marseille’s Navy Firefighters Battalion (BMPM). These UAVs will bring an aerial intelligence capacity, immediately available, and an operational added-value in a broad range of missions. Aix-en-Provence, January 15th, 2020. The Marseille’s Navy Firefighters Battalion will count
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Pierce + Northrop + Liteye Live Fire Demonstration with US Army
Pierce Aerospace, a Remote ID UAS Service Supplier (RID-USS), participated in the first C-UAS engagement that confirmed positive ID of UAS with a Remote ID system. Pierce’s Flight Portal ID (FPID), compliant with the ASTM F38 Workgroup “UAS Remote ID and Tracking” standard, delivered Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) information
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Colorado Drone Mystery: US Air Force Denies Involvement
The US Air Force issued a “not us” denial, a week after The Gazette questioned whether a Wyoming base was behind the mysterious sightings of drone swarms over northeastern Colorado in recent weeks. F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, which controls a string of missile silos in an area
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F-16 shoots down drone at Eglin AFB in cruise missile defense test
Washington (UPI) Dec 27, 2019 –
An Air Force squadron shot down a subscale drone from an F-16 Fighting Falcon targeting pod in a cruise missile defense test, the Air Force announced.
“This proof of concept can have implications for homeland defense missions, combined defense of the Arabian Gulf and beyond,” Col.
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UAV Landing Made Safer
Manta Air, an Israeli technology company in the security field specialises in the development and manufacture of parachutes and advanced air-bags for UAVs, parachutes for missiles and aerial resupply systems. The company is the only manufacturer in the world of air-bags for multi-rotors. Manta Air has been chosen as a
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Drones, targeted killing and the Soleimani Strike
A week ago, a US air strike that officials (speaking off-the-record) acknowledged was carried out by a Reaper drone, killed senior Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and up to 10 others, travelling in a two-car convoy outside Baghdad airport. The targeted killing of a senior Iranian military officer sent shock waves
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