sUAS News

Yuneec, one of the leading developers and manufacturers of commercial and private drones, and Mobilicom, a global provider of high-securitycommunications solutions, present their jointly developed drone solution H520 SkyHopper at AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019 in Chicago just a few weeks after announcing their strategic partnership. The H520 SkyHopper is the first of two new high-end drone […]

On Friday 25th April 2019 the CAA published a consultation (CAP1775) on their proposed charges for the registration of all operators of all unmanned aircraft with a mass between 250 grams and 20 kilograms. This change also mandates online competency testing and age restrictions for flying unmanned aircraft. The proposed fee for registration is £16.50 […]

Atlas Dynamics, a next-gen aerospace company providing autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) solutions, newly headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, will launch its new autonomous and multi-UAV capabilities at AUVSI Xponential 2019 taking place in Chicago, April 30 – May 2 at booth 3824. The company aims to start deploying its autonomous capabilities to U.S. military, security and first […]

For the first time in aviation history, an aircraft has been manoeuvred in flight using supersonically blown air, removing the need for complex movable flight control surfaces. In a series of ground-breaking flight trials that took place in the skies above north-west Wales, the MAGMA unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrated two innovative flow control technologies […]

While Switzerland has been most well-known for banks, chocolate and watches, in the last decade it has become largely known for as being the Home of Drones. Particularly, Lausanne Region plays an important part in this, being home to numerous companies in the drone ecosystem, notably senseFly, Flyability, Pix4D and, recently, Involi, all set up […]

On 26th April, we sent members a link to the CAA consultation on how drone registration is being proposed to be implemented later this year. With this announcement came the news that there will be a fee of £16.50 per annum, for operators to cover development and running costs of the system, training and testing […]

New solution combines waiver approval services with drone operations and data analysis to expand aerial inspections beyond the visual line of sight. Measure UAS, Inc., the leader in aerial intelligence, and AiRXOS, part of GE Aviation, today announced a partnership to provide a holistic inspection solution that overcomes the regulatory and performance complexities of advanced […]

Following the recent publication of CAP1775 which launched a consultation on the CAA’s proposed arrangements for registration fees for operators of unmanned aircraft, the UK model flying associations (BMFA, LMA, SAA & FPVUK) held a meeting last night with advisers. The text in CAP1775 is far more serious than the issue of registration fees alone. […]

Eliminates the need for chase planes and ground observers in new FAA-approved Ohio drone test site. Raytheon’s (NYSE: RTN) Ground-Based Detect and Avoid (GBDAA) system is now operational at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport and will be used to test the safety and efficiency of small drone operations in the 200 square mile drone test range. “GBDAA allows drone […]

Cape Town, South Africa: Cobham Aerospace Communications announces the successful completion of a proof of concept satcom system, dubbed AVIATOR UAV 500. Part of the Cobham AVIATOR range, the product concept is based on the current UAV 200 system and will deliver imagery at a rate of up to 500 kilobits per second (kbps). The proof […]

FlytBase, Inc., an enterprise drone automation company, launched FlytGCS, a cloud-based remote drone operations solution, at AUVSI Xponential 2019. With BVLOS capability at its core, FlytGCS is built for subject matter experts, drone operations managers and UAV operators who wish to automate, simplify and scale their missions. Nitin Gupta, FlytBase CEO, commented, “With FlytGCS, the […]

The Drone Harmony Cloud platform has been released. With it, Drone Harmony’s customers gain two new dimensions to their data capture workflows: cloud storage of mission data and a web-based planning interface. Combined with Drone Harmony’s mobile application, Drone Harmony is now offering a fully integrated data capture platform for drone service providers and enterprises. […]

ARLINGTON, Va. — Kittyhawk has been named as a 1st place winner in the Fleet Management category of the XCELLENCE Awards by the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI). Kittyhawk was selected from a pool of accomplished applicants. Winners were announced during the awards ceremony at AUVSI XPONENTIAL on Tuesday, April 30 at the […]

Wingtra and 3DR, the producer of the Site Scan drone data platform, recently signed a partnership agreement to benefit mining and surveying industry experts. Wingtra’s VTOL drone WingtraOne and Site Scan form a complete aerial surveying solution—from highly efficient aerial data collection to postprocessing and analysis. Through this exciting partnership, 3DR now endorses the WingtraOne as the preferred fixed-wing […]

Cheseaux, Switzerland, April 30 2019 – senseFly, leading provider of fixed-wing drone solutions, is introducing its new senseFly Solar 360 at this year’s AUVSI XPONENTIAL, the latest addition to its senseFly 360 solutions range. Created in collaboration with software company Raptor Maps, this new offering is a uniquely efficient thermal drone solution that enables the automatic assessment of […]

Massachusetts-based Ascent AeroSystems today announced the specifications, pricing, availability and launch customer for “Spirit,” its new dual-rotor coaxial drone and named Huntsville, Alabama-based Dynetics as the launch customer. “Bulky, fragile and unable to fly in bad weather, today’s ‘industrial’ drones are not well-suited for mission-critical operations. Damage from normal handling and weather conditions like light […]

Altavian, a U.S.-based Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) engineering and manufacturing firm, today announced the award of the Short Range Reconnaissance Prototype (SRR) contract as a part of the Army’s effort to field a next generation drone weighing less than 5 pounds flown by a single operator. This program is the first of several Army multi-year […]

ATA, LLC has partnered with Harris Corporation to provide safety-critical aerospace management solutions for the fast-growing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) industry. Under the arrangement, ATA and Harris jointly developed LAANC and obtained all FAA-required approvals to offer the service. Harris approved by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a UAS Service Supplier (USS) of Low Altitude […]

Indoor drone inspection pioneer Flyability launches Elios 2. With new intelligent flight handling and improved data collection capabilities, Elios 2 brings unprecedented ease of use and data quality in the inspection of areas that no other drone can access. Flyability, the pioneer and market leader of indoor inspection and exploration drones, announced the launch of […]

Specialist drone manufacturer, SKYCORP, has successfully doubled the maximum flight times of e-Drone Zero, Europe’s first hydrogen-powered drone, to two hours, by using a new, ultra-lightweight gas cylinder from AMS Composite Cylinders. The e-Drone Zero is a powerful, long endurance quadcopter designed for the commercial market. It features a compact, custom military-grade frame, and is […]

COLLEGE PARK and BALTIMORE, Md., April 26, 2019 – In a first-ever advancement in human medicine and aviation technology, a University of Maryland (UMD) unmanned aircraft has delivered a donor kidney to surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) in Baltimore for successful transplantation into a patient with kidney failure. This successful demonstration […]

The Russian technology startup Flyter officially announces the start of a campaign to search for an investor to make a prototype. Details on the project website: https://flyter.aero Over the past month, the project team has designed a test bench, which is a full-size model of the PAC VTOL720-200 wing console with lifting motor groups. Earlier, […]

On 11 December 2018, DroneShield Ltd (ASX:DRO) (“DroneShield” or the “Company”), announced it had entered into a Teaming Agreement with Thales Programas De Electronica Y Comunicaciones S.A.U. (“Thales Spain”) (a Spanish subsidiary of Thales S.A.), whereby Thales would utilise and promote DroneShield’s products in its defence and security contract bids in Spain involving counter-drone aspects. Thales […]

We’re working on the future. If you are seeking an iterative fast-paced environment where you can drive innovation, apply state-of-the-art technologies to solve extreme-scale real world challenges, and provide visible benefit to end-users, this is your opportunity. Come work on the Amazon Prime Air Team! Amazon Prime Air is seeking a Flight Operator with sound […]

Safety as a top priority at Matternet Comprehensive technical fleet management for SwissDrones SafeDrone by Lufthansa Technik has signed comprehensive contracts with drone manufacturers Matternet and SwissDrones. Both companies will use SafeDrone Health to improve the efficiency of their maintenance programs. SafeDrone Health helps to reduce maintenance efforts SafeDrone Health is a holistic and manufacturer-independent […]

Article by Forrest Harrington Drones (or UAVs) are transforming operations in a number of industries, including infrastructure inspection, agriculture, search and rescue, mining, and more. Commercial drone operators have three distinct power solutions to choose from: lithium batteries, internal combustion engines, or hydrogen fuel cells. But which technology can truly deliver the most cost-efficient (hence profitable) […]

Elistair launches the Ligh-T V.4, the newest version of its rugged and compact tether station for drones. With the first version released back in 2015, Ligh-T has been widely deployed by police forces, public safety, private security and industries in over 50 countries, and was selected by for various major events such as the Superbowl […]

Following the recent sudden announcement of Flight Restriction Zones around protected aerodromes capturing the operation of all unmanned aircraft of any weight and at any height (and the unreasonable three week notice period given for our clubs and members to comply), the CAA has dropped yet another bombshell on us with no prior warning. They […]

This is an absolute travesty that might put several more nails into the model aircraft hobby coffin. Please react to this one, it will make absolutely no difference to safety and security and is based on over inflated numbers from an industry desperate to try and clear the skies to make a perceived living. I […]

Grand Sky leads the industry with research, testing and development of BVLOS flights GRAND FORKS, N.D. – April 23, 2019 — Grand Sky Business and Aviation Park and Harris Corp. have joined forces to enable the country’s first and largest unmanned aerial system (UAS) airspace to support beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight operations […]

uAvionix, designer and manufacturer of Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance (CNS) equipment for unmanned and manned aircraft today announced a new line of certified avionics designed to enable Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) type certifications and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) mission capabilities. The ping200X Mode S Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) transponder and the truFYX Satellite Based Augmentation […]

Velodyne Lidar, Inc. today announced an agreement with Nikon Corporation, under which Sendai Nikon Corporation, a Nikon subsidiary, will manufacture lidar sensors for Velodyne with plans to start mass production in the second half of 2019. The partnership cements Velodyne’s manufacturing plan and expands its lead in the global lidar sensor market. “Mass production of our high-performance […]

Developed for high-altitude, long-endurance operation, HAWK30 is designed to deliver telecommunications network and other types of connectivity from the sky to the ground HAPSMobile Inc., a joint venture between AeroVironment and SoftBank Corp., recently increased the ceiling value of its Design Development Agreement with AeroVironment to $126 million AeroVironment participated in a joint press conference […]

Leading UAV Service Provider Aerodyne are pleased to announce that they have partnered with STC Specialized (wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Telecom Company) to provide critical asset inspection and management solutions to their enterprise clients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).The agreement will see Aerodyne implementing their drone-based enterprise solutions for STC Specialized’s clients within telecoms, power, oil […]

Wing is reshaping the future of delivery. We are an on-demand drone delivery service that can deliver food, medicine or other items within minutes. We’ve also developed an unmanned traffic management platform–a kind of air traffic control for unmanned aircraft–to safely route drones through the sky. Our service is faster, safer and produces far less […]

Daniel Ronen The UAV air bridge project took a major step forward in November 2018 with a trial deployment of the UAVAid Hansard system, to Malawi. The drone platform was deployed with a team of operators and engineers to the Kasungu Aerodrome (a humanitarian drone testing corridor managed by UNICEF), with the goal of further […]

For several years, drone-delivery company Wing has been working with the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership to lay the groundwork for a future where it will be routine for deliveries to arrive via wings and propellers instead of on four wheels. A key piece of that effort just slid into place: Wing has become the first drone […]

Cheseaux, Switzerland, April 24 2019 – senseFly, the leading provider of fixed-wing drone solutions—in collaboration with drone engineering and consulting specialists AL Drones and geo-technology company Santiago & Cintra—is excited to announce that the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) has approved BVLOS flights to be carried out in Brazil for the first time in the […]

UAV Navigation, a Spanish aerospace company specializing in professional grade autopilots and Flight Control Systems (FCS) for UAVs, will present the latest version of its FCS at XPONENTIAL 2019. Version 8 is a major upgrade and includes a wide range of new features and improvements for manufacturers of Fixed Wing, Rotary Wing and Target Drone UAVs, including, among others: User interface improvements for the Visionair mission software. […]

Will Aid in National Vaccination Campaigns Delivering 150 Vital Medical Products To 2,000 Health Facilities Serving 12 Million People 100x Increase In The Number of Health Facilities Served By Zipline Globally OMENAKO, GHANA Wednesday, April 24th—Today, during World Immunization Week, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana officially launched the world’s largest medical drone delivery service during […]

It has been my experience with the airspace integration effort that things can always get worse. Just ask the RC Hobbyist, who went under the bus with so little fanfare—actually not even a whimper, but an endorsement from the drone advocates and visionaries. One hundred eighty days out from the reauthorization people are going to […]

Record solar cell efficiency combined with specialized packaging and integration creates a first-ever dedicated solution designed to fly at 60,000 feet for years at a time Building on its long heritage of innovation, Alta Devices today announced a new solar solution that is designed to meet the specific needs of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can serve […]

Wing achieved a significant milestone today, becoming the first drone delivery company to receive Air Carrier Certification from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This is an important step for the FAA and the drone industry in the United States; the result of years of work to safely integrate drones into the national airspace. […]

Aimed at ages 7 – 11 Key Stage 2 pupils within the England and Wales school systems and P4 to P7 in Scotland, this high-quality educational programme is made available free of charge to schools and satisfies the national curriculum category ‘Design and Technology’. Teachers can use this programme to develop further class tuition after […]

Terra Drone India and the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad have announced that they have signed a pact to establish a first-of-its-kind Centre of Excellence for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in India. According to the tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the centre will be set up at IIT Hyderabad. “We are creating a unique educational […]

Planck Aerosystems (Planck Aero) announced today a partnership with the aerospace manufacturer, Empirical Systems Aerospace, Inc. (ESAero) to support Planck’s defense and commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) business. Under this agreement, ESAero will manufacture Planck Aero’s Group 1 Unmanned Aerial Systems, Shearwater, in the ESAero manufacturing plant in San Luis Obispo, California to support increasing […]

Mapping in environments, such as mines and densely-vegetated, remote outdoor locations, can be hazardous to workers and equipment. Lidar is proving to be a valuable addition to unmanned aerial and road-based autonomous vehicles for collecting geospatial data in these environments. That was the focus of a story by Andy Extance in Electro Optics called “Optical […]

The Lake Victoria Challenge is still many months away, however, we are approaching our first major milestone of the year – the closing of the LVC Flying Competitions registration on April 25th. Dozens of teams have signed up. These teams represent the future of leapfrogging the continent’s infrastructure deficit and addressing the public health and […]

The company develops an AI based situation awareness system for autonomous flights. The company also announces the appointment of Mobileye executive as its new VP Product. Tel Aviv-based startup Sightec completed a $2m seed round led by Sherpa InnoVentures and Playfair Capital. Sightec develops visual situation awareness system which is based on pioneering computer vision […]

With warmer weather right around the corner, many outdoor enthusiasts are preparing to hit the trails in regional, state, and national parks. All across the country, search and rescue organizations are preparing, too. In 2017 alone, the United States National Park Service deployed almost 3,500 search and rescue missions in national parks. And while search […]