sUAS News

The U.S. Air Force has awarded a new $48 million contract to Aurora Flight Sciences for the continued development of the Orion Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). Orion is a twin-engine high-performance UAS that can stay aloft over 100 hours at a time with payloads in excess of 1,000 pounds. Development of the Orion started in […]

Led by inventor and entrepreneur David Hall, Velodyne LiDAR – the world leader in 3D vision systems and advanced safety for autonomous vehicles – today announced a significant cost reduction for its VLP-16 Puck, which will spur hope and excitement for the development of safe autonomous vehicles that are accessible to all. Velodyne’s most popular […]

Word has reached me that Senior Vice President of Sales – Americas at Yuneec International David Morris resigned last week from Yuneec and has taken a position as a Senior Director at Intel. He will be responsible for the Falcon multirotor. Last September then Yuneec CEO Mike Khan resigned and moved to AEE technology. I believe this […]

The most anticipated news in the aerospace industry each December holiday season usually involves a sleigh and some reindeer, but in 2017, even Santa has his eyes opened to Elroy Air. The team at Elroy is developing a large-format autonomous aircraft focused on shipping weights of up to 150 lbs as far as 300 miles. This intersection […]

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for both defense and commercial applications, today announced the formation of a joint venture to develop solar-powered high-altitude long-endurance, or HALE, UAS for commercial operations. This category of UAS is also referred to as high-altitude pseudo-satellites, or HAPS. The joint venture will fund the […]

AgroFly developed – and patented – the first certified (in Switzerland, other countries pending) and assessed high-precision agricultural spraying UAV platform. Bringing the right amount of product at the right place on the crops doesn’t only protect plants efficiently but also in an eco-friendly manner. AgroFly’s target is to revolutionize plant protection treatments by bringing the right product, at […]

Hands up all those that remember crowd funder Plexidrone, the Canadian quadcopter that became an octocopter. All really very good on paper, but now after multiple excuses, and three years late refunds are on the table for a lucky few. This is what the current missive from DreamQii says about the delivery situation, and excuse me […]

The Property Drone Consortium (PDC), a collaboration that consists of insurance carriers, roofing industry leaders and supporting enterprises, announced today that it will sponsor and participate in the 2018 Public Safety UAS Conference to be held from March 5 – 7, 2018 in Crozet, Virginia (near Charlottesville). Charles Mondello, President of the PDC will present […]

Designed for FLIR Tau 2 core range as well as FLIR UAS products (Vue Pro / R series), ThermalCapture IRnet brings Ethernet/IP to drone thermal imaging payloads. Since nothing satisfying was existing on a super lightweight base, TeAx today presents the leading solution to an increasingly global market request. WILNSDORF, Germany, 3rd January 2018 – TeAx Technology, an […]

BELLEVILLE, Mich. – The International Drone Racing Association (IDRA) has announced that it has condensed its liability insurance for drone pilots into a single policy that has no drone limit, no deductibles, and maintains the worldwide coverage that has greatly benefited IDRA members. Starting January 1st, drone pilots can purchase the $1 million policy for […]

COPTRZ, the UK-based commercial drone specialist, has today announced the release of DRONE-FLX, an industry-first leasing solution that provides a cost-effective way for businesses and public bodies to enjoy the benefits of the latest drone technology. With costs spread over a three-year period, the latest drone hardware can be bundled with training and software to […]

The Laurel Marine Survey team and Flying-Cam team announce the successful acceptance testing of the Flying-Cam Air Mag Survey Platform. The Flying-Cam SARAH e 4.0 unmanned helicopter was operated in automatic mode from a ship and scanned an area of 40Ha in the Eastern Chinese sea. The magnetic data showed exceptional quality: high precision Cesium […]

Air traffic controllers are being corralled into the same building, no longer left to roam free and drink tea in that glass bit at the top of the tower. I do wonder if virtual towers will decrease local knowledge. If you are driving through the countryside in which aircraft get themselves lost to get to work […]

SALINA — Unmanned aircraft systems, more commonly known as drones, are popular gifts over the holiday season and a widespread hobby for flying enthusiasts. Many systems are sold and marketed as ready to fly; however, it is important that consumers are up-to-date with important regulations and safety practices. Kansas State Polytechnic is offering a free […]

It’s been a big year for the commercial drone industry. 2017 marks the first full year of FAA’s part 107 operators license being available. There are over 70,000 pilots flying commercially in all sort of applications. In fact, even the type applications opened up significantly. We saw the first “Flights Over People” waiver issued (Congrats […]

We build autonomous aircraft systems to deliver goods to the world’s most remote places. Our autonomous aircraft systems feature rotor-based vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing cruise flight with a hybrid powertrain for long range. We have designed a logistics system with integrated flight and ground operations that make our vehicles a safe, reliable, […]

SolarDrone, established from the laboratory of National Taiwan University, teamed up with experts in photovoltaic and UAV technologies to tackle the enduring problem of drone flight time. The product will be showcased at CES2018 Eureka Startup Marketplace (booth#52105), where some of the newest technology trends are featured. SolarDrone’s solar-powered quadcopters have been re-designed, re-engineered, and […]

I am somewhat humbled at the response today after my bath based rant of last night. Thank you all those that have emailed to say that you keep reading and are in agreement! So there is a feeling that the best days are over out there as corporate greed comes to take away innovation! Noise […]

The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation is bringing back its popular series of drone workshops for 2018. In 2017, over 500 attendees at four free workshops learned about drone flight operations, data management and dozens of various applications for government and commercial users. Presenters also provided updates on the latest changes in federal […]

The USDA Forest Service and Michigan Technological University (MTech) are using unmanned aerial systems, or drones, to advise the Hiawatha National Forest’s land management efforts. Located in Michigan’s wild and scenic Upper Peninsula, the Hiawatha National Forest’s dramatic shorelines lie nestled up to Lake Superior, Huron, and Michigan – three of the five Great Lakes. This past summer, the Federal […]

I have just jumped out of the bath to jot down some notes before today’s email goes out. A place holder if you will. What has prompted my disd ain? Some absolutely ridiculous forecasts for 2018 that I have just read whilst in the bath! President Trumps drone integration program is not going to make […]

Off the shelf, hobby priced SLT’s I think this one will be popular, looking forward to the reviews. If you want an autopilot that can fly it easily don’t forget the Ardupilot Quadplane stack is the leader of the pack (and its free). The power train for this will not be cheap, I still struggle […]

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP; TSX: BLDP) today announced that the company has developed a next generation high performance fuel cell propulsion system to power unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones. Ballard has also received a follow-on contract from Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary, for extended durability testing of the next-generation 1.3 kilowatt (kW) fuel cell […]

Quaternium, a leading European brand of long-endurance multirotors, has flown for 4 hours and 40 minutes with their HYBRiX.20 fuel-electric quadcopter. They believe that this flight time beats any former demonstration ever made with an electric, hybrid of hydrogen multicopter HYBRiX.20 RPA was designed by Quaternium in 2014 and its first model was built in […]

Aireon enters 2018 with almost two-thirds of its operational space-based ADS-B system completed and receiving over 6 billion ADS-B position messages each month Aireon announced today the successful fourth launch and deployment of its space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) payloads hosted onboard the Iridium® NEXT satellite constellation. At 5:27 PM PST, a flight-proven SpaceX Falcon 9 […]

Insta360 today released the beta for Insta360 Pro V2.0, a package of major firmware and software upgrades for the Insta360 Pro, its industry-leading, pro-level 360° VR camera. Adding 12K super high-resolution photos, important improvements to image quality, and a range of new features, the update cements the Insta360 Pro’s status as the premier tool for […]

Mothership Aeronautics is using autonomous solar-powered blimps to disrupt long-distance aerial data collection. Mothership Aeronautics has raised a seed round of USD $1.45 Million to build and deploy its new TerraSoar Aerial Intelligence Airship. The round was led by Shatter Tech Venture Holdings and included Silicon Valley VC Draper Associates and Manila-based accelerator Cerebro Labs. […]

Salary range: circa. £80k + Share Options + Car Allowance (dep. on experience) Benefits: Pension, Perkbox, flexible working, training opportunities, and more! Location: Reading, Berkshire (UK) Reporting to: COO Altitude Angel is seeking an experienced Sales Director to join our growing company and based at our new headquarters in Reading, Berkshire. As Sales Director, you’ll manage our team of […]

Surf Life Saving New South Wales Australia this week commenced RPA operational trials at 9 locations, using DJI P4P’s & M600’s and machine learning algorithms which analyse live video and generate an alert whenever it identifies a shark. Twenty seven Volunteer life savers and forty three professional life guards have cross trained to become RPA […]

The International Drone Racing Association (IDRA) has announced a new partnership with Heroes Dutch Comic Con for the 2018 Drone Racing Series. The IDRA will hold the first race of the professional series at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Netherlands, during Heroes Dutch Comic Con on March 31st & April 1, 2018. Tickets will be available […]

Eight international teams have registered for DroneClash, the first counter drone competition in the world. During this competition the teams use their highly sophisticated drone(s) to take down as many other drones as possible, RobotWars in the sky as it were. Teams need to bring at least two drones per battle, but they can use […]

Czech company Primoco UAV SE, which develops, manufactures and sells the unmanned aircraft Primoco UAV One 100/150 soared to a sky high finish in 2017. “When I look at the results of the whole year, I consider the development, certification and contracts for the first sales of our aircraft in Russia and Malaysia to be a […]

3W-International exhibited the new 3W-180 SRE hybrid Wankel engine at this year’s Xponential early in the summer of 2017. After half a year, CEO Karsten Schudt draws a positive balance relative to the new engine. The 3W-180 SRE hybrid is unique in the drive technology for UASs. The engine features 180 ccm and a short-engine […]

DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, is introducing a knowledge quiz this Friday for all pilots who are operating drones in the UK airspace. The test comes prior to government plans to introduce a safety awareness test for drone users in 2018. A recent survey carried out by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) revealed […]

NASA has selected two finalist concepts for a robotic mission planned to launch in the mid-2020s: a comet sample return mission and a drone-like rotorcraft that would explore potential landing sites on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. The agency announced the concepts Wednesday, following an extensive and competitive peer review process. The concepts were chosen from […]

A man has been jailed for five years today after being convicted of flying drones carrying £35,000 worth of drugs and contraband items into prison grounds. Michael Tovey, 28, was found guilty of using two drones to transport quantities of cannabis and psychoactive drugs, mobile phones, phone chargers, SIM cards and needles into the grounds […]

by Greg Crutsinger https://www.dronescholars.com/ I recently attended the Emerald Cup, a large two-day gathering of the California cannabis industry. Tens of thousands of participants, growers, associations, and grow-related businesses descended on the Sonoma County fairgrounds in Santa Rosa to celebrate the 2017 fall harvest. Let me preface that my weed-smoking days are long behind me. I […]

Elistair, French designer and manufacturer of tethered drone systems has signed an agreement with the DGA – French Defense procurement Agency – for the financing of its AIRWATCH project, under the RAPID program – Dual Innovation Support Scheme. The AIRWATCH project aims at developing a smart « dronebox »: tethered drone for surveillance and telecommunications […]

Leading UK drone technology and service provider uVue has taken delivery of what is believed to be the world’s first ever production hydrogen drone – the MMC Hydrone 1550 – enabling a new era for drone technology services in the UK to begin. According to uVue, the MMC Hydrone 1500 is a huge breakthrough for […]

The FCC has imposed a $180,000 civil penalty on a Sarasota, Florida, company that had been marketing non-compliant audio-visual transmitters intended for use on drones in violation of the Commission’s Amateur Service and marketing rules. In an Order released on December 19, the FCC explained that Lumenier Holdco LLC (formerly known as FPV Manuals LLC) was advertising […]

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) chartered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in June has submitted its report and recommendations (PDF) to the agency on technologies available to identify and track drones in flight and other associated issues. The ARC’s 74 members represented a diverse array of stakeholders that included the aviation community […]

Direct Broadcast Drone ID Method Imposes Fewest Burdens, Protects Privacy December 19, 2017 – DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, welcomes today’s release of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) committee report on technology to identify drones in flight, clearing the way for drones to be used in new beneficial ways. The […]

Airbus and Williams Advanced Engineering, the innovative engineering and technology business of Williams Grand Prix Engineering, are to explore potential areas of technological collaboration. Under the terms of a newly signed MoU, the two companies will examine in particular applications that may combine Williams’ innovation culture, lightweight composites and battery expertise with Airbus‘ Zephyr High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite […]

Sagetech Corporation once again proved small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) can safely fly in controlled airspace using the same technology that has helped maintain flight safety for decades. A PAE ISR Resolute Eagle UAS, equipped with a Sagetech XPC-TR-50 Mode C transponder, successfully completed a mission in civil airspace on November 8, 2017. The flight took […]

Falcon Foundation UAS, L.L.C. is pleased to announce the Certificate of Waiver for GreenSight Agronomics of 50 Milk St, 19th Floor, Boston, MA 02109 for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations granted on December 15th 2017. The FAA issued this waiver because of the risks that were addressed with science based data given to […]

At the request of U.S. national security and law enforcement agencies, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is using its existing authority under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations § 99.7 – “Special Security Instructions” – to address concerns about unauthorized drone operations over seven Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. The FAA and DOE have agreed to restrict […]

Dronefly, a leader in commercial drone solutions has been working alongside officials to identify and develop solutions for fire fighting and rescue operations. Our goal with this infographic is to educate the public and other first responders on the many benefits of drones. These benefits include a quickly deployable aerial overview, a lower cost compared […]

Rory San Miguel Getting started is the hardest part. That’s what our customers tell us. They believe that the right drone data solution will supercharge their profits, safety and productivity. But the work of figuring out exactly what they need, and which vendor is best placed to provide it, turns out to be trickier than they thought — and […]

The past year has been a fruitful one for commercial drone use, as public acceptance grows and the boundaries continue to be pushed in what this disruptive technology can do. Some twelve months ago there was a far greater concern from the general public regarding the risk to both safety and privacy that UAVs could […]

Drone Delivery Canada ‘DDC or the Company’ (CSE:FLT OTC:TAKOF) is pleased to announce that Transport Canada has accepted the Company’s Declaration of Compliance for the X1000 Sparrow cargo delivery drone. This unmanned aircraft system (UAS) is now compliant with the Transport Canada UAS standard. The Sparrow is the first cargo delivery drone of its kind to […]