sUAS News

NLR is testing a large drone at Twente Airport this week. NLR is using the XCalibur+ Jet Trainer – a drone approved for professional use in accordance with the Assessment Specifications for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, Class 1 (AS-RPAS1) – to gain experience in operating drones powered by jet engines. The first test flights with the […]

SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) is going through the roof this weekend. Well in truth for all of the last week. Patrick and I have received news from several sources that some Part 107 operators are being asked to not turn up for work unless they have American-made equipment for Government gigs. Government Agencies, it is alleged, […]

Putting your trust in an external organisation to host and manage your data is not a decision that is made lightly. Your expectation is that the supplier will treat your data like it would its own, and ensure it is captured, transferred, and stored securely. We at Consortiq understand how important your data is to […]

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)s, commonly known as drones, will soon be a common sight over border zones, crime hotspots and city streets, as public safety and security officials and police departments discover the cost saving and efficiencies offered by drone patrol ‘armies’, says Airborne Drones, a South African-based international manufacturer of enterprise-grade drones. “Drones provide the […]

A few things to get out of the way first. I am not a lawyer and I am not a journalist, I just enjoy being part of the free flow of information, and occasionally writing an opinion on top of that information, so call me what you will. I don’t like politics and backroom deals […]

Piaggio Aerospace, a leading Italian aircraft manufacturer active in the business, defense and security sectors, today resumed flight test activity for the second prototype of its P.1HH HammerHead, the state of the art multipurpose Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) at Birgi Military Airport in Trapani today. P.1HH is an Unmanned Aerial System designed for aero, marine […]

The DATAhawkPPK is QuestUAV’s latest ultra-high accuracy fixed wing drone package. It is ideal for professional surveyors that need maximum geospatial precision for their customers, the aircraft provides survey-grade results within minutes. The accuracy of the DATAhawk PPK system has been independently validated by comparing the results of repeated aerial surveys with precisely measured verification […]

Veteran droners know all about Andrew Dunlop and his Millswood failsafe devices. Lovingly crafted for the Outback Challenge. Back in the day, BDJI (Before DJI). The Outback Challenge did more to advance the cause of geofencing than any other effort. Andrew is about to release a new, quite frankly tiny independant geofencing device. He explains it […]

senseFly, the world’s leading producer of mapping drones, today announces Always On, a new worry-free service package designed to keep professional drone operators working and ensure business continuity. Businesses are increasingly professionalising their drone operations, with UAV data acquisition developing in-line with this change, marking a move from using drones in pilot projects only to integrating […]

Kespry, the leading aerial intelligence platform provider, today announced that it has been selected by the CRU Group (Catastrophe Response Unit Adjusters) to provide its automated aerial intelligence solution to support the company’s global insurance claims operations. The announcement of the relationship with CRU comes on the heels of Kespry’s recent announcement of the company’s […]

SLANTRANGE, a leading provider of next­ generation drone­ based remote sensing, analytics, and data services for Agriculture announced today a new Data Collection and Analysis Agreement with Bayer CropScience LP, a world­ leading agriculture enterprise with businesses in seeds, crop protection, and non-agricultural pest control. “We are very excited to work with SLANTRANGE to support […]

Chaney Aerospace, LLC today announced they are providing custom ground control stations (GCS) for the UAS industry. Custom ground control stations give operators the advantage to design a professional tool that fits specifically to their UAS. Ground control stations can be used to fly the UAV, plan flights, retrieve data, and process data in the field. […]

This survey, which is aimed at the worldwide UAS/RPAS/Drone operator community is now available in English, French, German, Italian & Spanish. This survey is an opportunity to make it possible for all drone operators to assure that their specific applications are taken into account. The objective of this survey is to: 1- Identify the market sectors in […]

One more feather in John Taylor’s cap. If you have been following this saga closely. Especially on Facebook, you will know that some folks are claiming that the FAA made use of the $5 pilots registry. John Taylor filed a FOIA request to discover the truth of the matter and the truth is they didn’t make […]

Katwijk, The Netherlands – Wednesday, July 5, 2017. The province of Limburg (Belgium) will soon begin using an Aerialtronics’ drone to assist police and firefighters in tasks such as crowd and traffic monitoring, search and rescue, locating illegal cannabis farms and conducting reconnaissance. Starting in January of next year, the province of Limburg (Belgium) will […]

UAV Factory USA is expanding and actively seeking a Sales Manager to coordinate B2B and B2C sales throughout the Americas. The company is going through a rapid business expansion phase and the position requires a professional leader, excellent team-builder and a mentor capable of developing a strategic vision and architecting the processes. This person will […]

SALINA — Airport management and unmanned aircraft systems students from the Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus are receiving national recognition for their interdisciplinary research on a current airport industry challenge. The Airport Cooperative Research Program, which is managed by the Transportation Research Board and sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration, has selected the team of Kansas State […]

DroneShield is pleased to announce that it has commenced taking orders for DroneSentry, and expects to commence production in the fourth calendar quarter of 2017. DroneSentry provides its users with a multi-method drone detection capability and includes and integrates radar, radio frequency, acoustic, thermal and optical (with a range extender) sensor detection, i.e. all the […]

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)—or drones—allow capturing and analysis of agricultural data at high spatial resolution, including status of the land, crops and farm infrastructure contributing to more effective management. UAS operators are typically young entrepreneurs who invest in the equipment, learn the skills to use it, help analyse the data and interpret the findings for […]

Garware Wall Ropes Ltd. (GWRL), a leading manufacturer of technical textiles for the Indian and global markets, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Israel’s Aero-T showing intention to combine their capability for manufacturing and supply of advanced aerostats for Indian Defence. India’s vast borders comprising of 15200 KM of land and […]

The Mayday Parachute Deployment System by MARS Parachutes is the perfect solution to a multitude of UAV systems on the market today. This system monitors your flight envelope and will automatically deploy the parachute if the MAYDAY detects out of bounds activity such as a sudden fall, loss of a rotor or motor, or other […]

David Finnegan was recently named director, Remote Sensing/Geographic Information Systems Center of Expertise at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, New Hampshire. CRREL is a component of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, headquartered in Vicksburg, Mississippi. In 2001, Finnegan began his career at CRREL as a contract scientist and […]

John Taylor has received an unusual Thanksgiving gift, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia today, issued its final ruling. in their words… “The FAA’s Registration Rule violates Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act. We grant Taylor’s petition for review of the Registration Rule, and we vacate the Registration Rule […]

DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology,takes very seriously a report that a drone may have caused the temporary closure of London’s Gatwick airport on Sunday, 2 July, as it flew too close to the runway. In past incidents, early reports of drone involvement turned out to be false. Nevertheless, we […]

A successful management buyout of Resource Group’s Aviation and Aerospace Resourcing business (including Contractair Ltd) and its Aviation Technical Training business has been completed. The management buyout team has been led by Stephan Hickman who has 19 years of experience running various businesses in the group and who has assumed the role of CEO. Joining […]

Jason Small – Verizon As another gust of wind hits the windows on my house I can see them start to bow inward. “I think we need to go downstairs,” I say to my wife. The 99 mph winds are battering the outside of my house and the siding is literally starting to peel away. […]

We cordially invite you to join us for the 2017 World Congress on Unmanned Systems Engineering – Conference and Exhibition at University of Cambridge, United Kingdom (27th and 28th July 2017). The Congress offers a chance to network with Unmanned Systems researchers, scientists, business professionals and end-users in a relaxing atmosphere. The Congress will attract […]

The Government of Malawi and UNICEF today launched an air corridor to test potential humanitarian use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones. The corridor is the first in Africa and one of the first globally with a focus on humanitarian and development use. It is centred on Kasungu Aerodrome, in central Malawi, […]

Phase 1 of DARPA’s Fast Lightweight Autonomy (FLA) program concluded recently following a series of obstacle-course flight tests in central Florida. Over four days, three teams of DARPA-supported researchers huddled under shade tents in the sweltering Florida sun, fine-tuning their sensor-laden quadcopter unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the intervals between increasingly difficult runs. DARPA’s FLA […]

While this seems like an outrageous claim, it’s not any more outrageous than a lot of other claims people have made in the dronesphere. In any event, allow me to share a short story of how I captured the first iPhone aerial drone photo. At the time I had teamed up with a group […]

I am not a lawyer, but reading through the latest DJI Go App’s Terms of Use (24 May, 2017) some red flags get thrown up for me. There are several conditions in here that do appear to contradict each other (exceptions), and to a legal layman, like myself, they appear to leave little hurdles to be clarified […]

NM Group provides functional reporting for utility vegetation managers. Our service prioritises vegetation encroachments, reduces operational costs and ensures regulatory compliance. Vegetation analytics deliver functional information to help utilities better manage the risk posed by vegetation-related outages. We deliver the precise location of danger trees and potential infringement to improve vegetation management strategy. How the […]

Australian company Sentient has demonstrated its ViDAR airborne optical radar system to European maritime surveillance agencies, with a ViDAR equipped Insitu ScanEagle RPAS detecting and tracking small boats and people in the water on a trial at Huelva, Spain in May. Representatives of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), European Border and Coast Guard Agency […]

GEO Jobe, a leading GIS software and solution provider offering UAV mapping services, has been integrating UAV / UAS data capture into a number of projects enabling quick turn-around and cost savings for clients. What this means is that in addition to being experts in the ArcGIS / ArcGIS Online space we can offer our […]

I had to smile when the landing was made prominent in Martin Luis Gomez blog update which details the successful second flight of Aquilla. It took a little while for The Facebook internet drone team to fess up to the approach incident at the end of the first flight. Once again, go team Somerset ! Martin Luis […]

Margarita Mulero Pazmany, PhD Biologist at Swiss Ornithological Institute UAS operate at low altitudes (<500 m AGL) and in any terrain, thus they are susceptible to interact with local fauna. UAS performing target-oriented flight patterns, larger aircraft sizes, and fuel-powered (noisier) engines evoked the strongest reactions in wildlife. Birds are more prone to react to UAS […]

Full motion video (FMV) captured by the best-selling drones in the world can now be viewed, queried and used for professional mapping projects in Esri ArcGIS. CompassDrone™ will introduce DJI2FMV, a beta script soon to be rolled out as a web-accessible application, at the 2017 Esri Imaging & Mapping Forum in July. CompassDrone developed DJI2FMV […]

The Property Drone Consortium (PDC), a collaboration that consists of insurance carriers, roofing industry leaders and supporting enterprises announced today that Gary Sullivan and Bryan Corder were elected by the board at its April 2017 meeting to co-chair the organization for the next two years. Sullivan is serving his second term as chair and represents […]

PCS Edventures!.com, Inc., (PCSV) a leading provider of K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs, took its first step towards the creation of the Scholastic Drone Racing League with the completion of the Idaho Drone Institute. As a component of a statewide grant funded by the Idaho STEM Action Center, the Idaho Drone Institute […]

Jani Hirvinen, JDrones CEO received a 2017 Global UAV Innovation Award at the Drone World Conference, Shenzhen China last week on behalf of the Ardupilot project. Shenzhen is the heart of drone manufacture in China and this show the largest commercial drone show in China. Speaking to me via Skype this morning Jani called the […]

Results of Drone Effectiveness Study show industry seeking support from commercial operators Many leading construction companies and Facilities Managers are reaping the rewards that come with drone surveying, but some are still seeking guidance on how drones help improve their business processes. So say the results of Sky Revolutions’ first interrogation of the market. Their […]

David Walters, the Software Development Manager for CQNet will be interviewed live on sUAS News today, Wednesday June 28 at 9 pm BST. CQNet is the proprietary software system for the unmanned technology solutions leader, Consortiq. It is the easiest, most efficient way to manage UAS operations. Walters will conduct a live demo and walkthrough […]

Chinese industrial drone manufacturer MMC has a view from the top of the drone industry. As it’s Shenzhen neighbour DJI has risen to market dominance in the recreational drone segment, MMC has achieved prominence in the commercial sector. With over 500% growth in the last few years, the company has sound funding, a global client […]

Solar panels, like any other artificial infrastructure objects, require periodical inspections. UAV equipped with thermal camera is the best choice for inspection, as in most cases it saves costs compared to manned aviation and saves time compared to visual control with handheld IR camera. UgCS Usually, photovoltaic (PV) solar panel field inspection requires use of […]

Microdrones is excited to announce that their popular md4-1000 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been added to Transport Canada’s (TC) exclusive list of Compliant Unmanned Air Systems. One of only eight companies worldwide to earn this distinction, Microdrones’ accomplishment benefits clients across the globe – not just Canada. “This approval from Transport Canada (TC) for […]

As one of the most highly-anticipated films of the year, Transformers 5 is set to capture the imagination of moviegoers all over the world. But one company that is celebrating the release for a different reason is drone expert, Consortiq. As one of the most well-respected drone operators in the world, Consortiq was commissioned to […]

Rockwell Collins avionics have been selected for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ (GA-ASI) MQ-9B SkyGuardian™. Rockwell Collins will support GA-ASI to efficiently upgrade the proven Predator B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) system to simplify civil airspace access. GA-ASI has selected the capabilities of the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion® integrated avionics system for this unmanned aerial […]

Leonardo has partnered with the certified air operator Heli Protection Europe (HPE) to offer surveillance and reconnaissance services via the operation of remotely piloted air vehicles (RPAS) on behalf of civil customers such as police and emergency responders. Leonardo aims to provide services that involve the gathering and management of data for missions such as […]

The WienerCycle and WienerDrone will join the iconic Wienermobile, WienerRover, and WienerMini to ensure hot dog fans everywhere have a chance to try the new Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs – now with no added nitrates or nitrites (except those naturally occurring in celery juice), and no artificial preservatives in their meat. With that mission in […]

Every year, the outrageous results that are produced by uncontrolled fires become evident. For this reason, aviation and safety authorities from the different European Member States and the whole world are investing a lot of resources on firefighting and prevention. Nowadays, Spain already has in some of its regions a small fleet of drones and, […]