sUAS News

Students from Canadian Universities are flocking in impressive numbers to the 2017 Unmanned Systems Canada Student UAS Competition. A total of 16 teams from New Brunswick to BC have registered for the event. First time competitors from Calgary and Windsor, will add excitement and new input to this 9 th annual challenge. The use of […]

The Phantom 4 is no more, the shortest lifespan to date for a DJI product, born March 2016 terminated January 2017. Just ten months. DJI sent these letters to dealers recently: Hi Dealers This is an update as of this morning on DJI Products. DJI Mavic Pro and Mavic Pro Combo Although production is releasing […]

Unmanned Experts have been awarded the highest level of SGS Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Safety & Compliance Verification, passing the most comprehensive audit of safety systems and operational safety practices within the drone industry. The SGS RPAS standards are now being widely accepted by the booming commercial drone industry. With SGS having extended its […]

Aeronautics Group, a leading UAS manufacturer, will present its wide range of comprehensive defense solutions and UAS platforms at Aero India. Aeronautics line of UAS’s includes MALE UAS – the Dominator XR , Tactical UAS – the Aerostar, and state-of-the-art unmanned mini UAS’s – the Orbiter family. The orbiter family includes Orbiter 4 multi-mission STUAS, […]

DragonPlate, known for high quality, ready to purchase carbon fibre components has just released UAV quadcopter frame kits. These kits provide the basic structure necessary for anyone interested in building their own carbon fibre multi-rotor. In addition to the assembly templates and instructions, full CAD models are available for download for each kit. This allows […]

Sky-Futures Training Academy (SFTA) will be running a series of webinars on the new UK Basic Drone Certification course (delivered under Sky-Futures Civil Aviation Authority Full NQE status). Our CRTO, Nick Rogers, and Training & Operational Standards Manager, Frankie Suarez, will lead the webinar and give you a comprehensive guide to this new SFTA course. […]

SkyPan International is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement with the United States Federal Aviation Administration to settle the civil penalty action initiated by the FAA in 2015 related to its unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations in New York City and Chicago during 2012-2014. While neither admitting nor contesting the allegations that these […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration today announced a comprehensive settlement agreement with SkyPan International, Inc., of Chicago. The agreement resolves enforcement cases that alleged the company operated unmanned aircraft (UAS) in congested airspace over New York City and Chicago, and violated airspace regulations and aircraft operating rules. Under the terms of the agreement, […]

Measure, the nation’s leading Drone as a Service® operator, announced today that it has raised $15 million in Series B financing with LionTree Advisors acting as the financial advisor. Measure and its national network of licensed pilots provide turnkey solutions to acquire, process, and deliver actionable aerial data to enterprise customers. Since Measure’s last investment round in September of […]

On the latest instalment of the sUAS News podcast, we take a look at potential inroads to the new political landscape coming to Washington D.C. with guests Jeffery Anders and Rob Thompson. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/suasnews/2017/01/04/winds-of-change Without a doubt, the U.S. faces a totally different mindset and way of doing business. President-elect Trump has made his pick for […]

After a series of successful test flights, Danish drone operator Heliscope and inspection software developer Scopito are close to becoming the first to obtain the coveted permanent BVLOS license from the Danish Transport Agency. A Danish project with BVLOS test flights is nearing its completion – and the results are highly promising. So promising, in […]

I had a very interesting run through of Expanse, industrial inspection software for the drone age. Sky-Futures head of product Colin Hickey spoke very slowly to me so that I could understand. Colin has over 13 years of product experience in the Oil and Gas industry where he specialised in software product design and delivery […]

An expensive mistake reported by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. An obvious stand out is the poor range of the command and control (C2) link. For an expensive commercial system, 165m is not far. The RPA was part of a six-month trial for search and rescue group Westpac. That trial had started in February of […]

On 14 January Gary noticed that DJI had removed the Phantom 3 Advanced, Pro and 4K variants of the Phantom range from their online store. When visiting the info pages for these variants, a notification pops up showing the Mavic and displaying the following message: “Please note that the Phantom 3 Advanced/Professional/4K is no longer […]

SimActive Inc., a world-leading developer of photogrammetry software, is pleased to announce that Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has chosen Correlator3D™ for its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) research. “We assessed photogrammetry solutions to assist our study of river shore line erosion, mangrove habitats and geospatial applications,” said Associate Professor Sr. Dr Anuar Ahmad, Postgraduate Manager, Faculty […]

Released into the wild, what the NTSB believed happened. An in-flight breakup due to the platform being operated outside of weather limits. It was a test flight so incidents and accidents are to be expected really and of course the beauty of unmanned systems is that nobody was hurt. A very impressive machine from Facebook […]

If you need an indicator that peak drone has happened why not cast your eyes towards an AT&T press release. The accompanying video, as I type, has only 723 views, four days after release. That with a subscriber base of 143,000 and some change. The use case, a radio survey, is a good one but […]

In what it calls an “extremely urgent complaint” to the FCC, ARRL has targeted the interference potential of a series of audio/video transmitters used on unmanned aircraft and marketed as Amateur Radio equipment. In a January 10 letter to the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division, ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, said the transmitters use frequencies […]

Demands on fixed wing drones are growing continually. Other than copter drones, fixed wing platforms are generally used to cover large areas (hundreds of hectares) in a short amount of time. Standards on flight endurance and efficient area coverage are growing throughout different industries such as surveying, agriculture, mining or surveillance. To create a high-quality […]

Coptrz have two positions open in the North of the UK. Are you passionate about drones? Can you persuade businesses that it’s the next big essential item for their company strategy? For this role, you will be able to convince customers on the potential drones have to revolutionise their business, taking them on a journey […]

An architect studying at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain, has today released details of a design for the drone transportation hub of the future. This project is unique for two reasons – the first is that the design repurposes a disused bullfighting ring from the early 1900s, and the second […]

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) company, has won the contract for Phase 3 of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program. DARPA’s ALIAS program is leveraging advances in autonomy to reduce pilot workload, augment mission performance, and improve aircraft safety and reliability. DARPA is working with Sikorsky […]

Aireon announced today the successful launch and deployment of the first ten satellites hosting its space-based automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) system. Part of the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation, Aireon’s space-based ADS-B network will transform air traffic management capabilities, providing real-time air traffic surveillance and flight tracking across 100 percent of the planet. Currently, more […]

The Phantom 3 Pro and Advanced have been removed from DJI’s store. For a little while the P3P represented the best bang for buck in the Phantom range. It has been my recommendation when asked, since the Phantom 4 was released. Great performance and able to do everything the Phantom 4 Pro could for half […]

We are looking for a technically skilled Junior Sales Representative to join our growing team in San Francisco. Pix4D is a developer of internationally renowned software products that are making drone mapping for professionals more powerful and accessible than ever. As part of our team, you will support the sales team dedicated to B2B sales […]

The plot thickens. Sorry folks, it seems that those refunds might not materialize after all. Lily Robotics apparently used your preorder funds as collateral for a bank loan and might need to pay the bank back first. The company is also now facing charges of false advertising and misleading business practices from the San Francisco […]

For unmanned aircraft systems to safely fly autonomously in increasingly crowded airspace, they must be able to accurately detect and avoid obstacles like trees, power lines, and, critically, other aircraft. “This is the core problem with unmanned aircraft systems: the ability to see and avoid other aircraft,” said Mark Blanks, the director of the Virginia […]

Drone pilots who want to fly their drones for non-recreational purposes can quickly and conveniently pass their Part 107, remote pilot test with the new King School’s online Drone Pilot Ground School and Test Prep Course. “That’s all drone pilots need to do to start using their drones to serve the community in any of […]

The drone market showed incredible growth in 2016 and Drone Dispatch expects more of the same in 2017. The reasons for the unrelenting rise of drones in everyone’s day to day life are far stretching and all encompassing. We are going to highlight many of the key factors contributing to the rising tide of drones […]

Harshwardhan Zala, a fourteen-year-old Indian from the state of Gujarat, has been granted a 730,000 US Dollar contract with the Gujarati government to produce mine-disabling drones for use in war zones. Zala says, in regards to the purpose of the drone: “The inspiration struck when I was watching television and learned that a large number […]

Announced via Twitter today, EuroUSC UK was put into the hands of the administrator yesterday, the 12th of January 2017. At the moment Companies House has not reflected the change yet: EUROUSC-UK LTD ALEXANDRA HOUSE ST JOHNS STREET SALISBURY WILTSHIRE UNITED KINGDOM SP1 2SB Company No. 10173661 Status: Active Date of Incorporation: 11/05/2016 Country of […]

Sky-Futures is rolling out a Basic Drone Certification Course; the new course will enable persons and organisations in the UK to reach the basic standard required to operate drones under a CAA Permission for Commercial Operations (PfCO). For the past two years, Sky-Futures has established a reputation for safe, high quality and fit-for-purpose drone training, […]

The Everfly team is building some really different autonomous flying things. Drones but not drones, or UAS but without the bureaucracy. Things that fly through the night. Things that deliver medical supplies to places where there aren’t roads. We’re looking for good people to join our team. We explore what’s possible in aircraft design, taking […]

The Australian Association for Unmanned Systems (AAUS) is concerned about the increase in local government laws prohibiting the use of drones/RPAS in public areas. Such bylaws pose a threat to both hobby and commercial operators. If we don’t tackle this issue head on, we could end up with a patchwork of “pro” and “anti” drone […]

Hands up, who remembers Piksi, 2013 much simpler times. A crowdfunder that worked and now a mention in Forbes! Well done chaps. Swift Navigation, the San Francisco-based startup building centimeter-accurate GPS technology that will power a world of autonomous vehicles, is proud to announce that two of its co-founders, Fergus Noble (29) and Colin Beighley […]

Energy Drone Coalition, a ground-breaking resource with events, news and market intelligence that focuses specifically on collaboration within the rapidly emerging drone/UAV technology being utilized and developed for the oil & gas, power, mining & chemical industries, is pleased to announce the newest members of the distinguished industry advisory board for 2017, as well as […]

Centennial CO, USA, January 12th, 2017 – Liteye Systems, Inc., provider of the AUDS counter unmanned defense system, and Tribalco, LLC, a global integrated technology services and solutions company, have teamed up in order to deliver multiple AUDS systems to the U.S. Military. “Our team is very proud to become part of the effort to […]

In the rapidly advancing drone data analytics sector and the coming on strong world of Artificial Intelligence, High Performance Compute (HPC) is now measured by Floating Point Operations per Second (FLOPS). No longer is the metric for HPC based on user session responsiveness, transactions per second and Input/Output operations Per Second (IOPS). The unprecedented data […]

For decades, NASA has used computer models to simulate the flow of air around aircraft in order to test designs and improve the performance of next-generation vehicles. At NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, researchers recently used this technique to explore the aerodynamics of a popular example of a small, battery-powered drone, a […]

I can’t say I am surprised, Facebook’s recent admission of a lack of landing for their internet-beaming drone Aquila shows just how hard high-level flight can be. Platforms designed to fly high above the weather are vulnerable in a heavy, moving, turbulent low-level atmosphere. Titan has had troubles of their own, they have never flown a large high altitude […]

Industrial Aerobotics just completed work in providing McCarthy Building Companies and APS construction monitoring progress updates 40MW solar site in Red Rock Arizona that will provide clean energy solely for use by Arizona State University (ASU) and PayPal. The site is now online and providing enough energy to power 10,000 homes. Industrial Aerobotics visited the […]

It had to happen, Lily Drone has fallen to earth. I only hope that the team at Lily do give all the money back to those who pre-ordered. It should be an automatic refund, in the next 60 days. I would be rather inclined to keep a sharp eye on it. Where do we start […]

We were very disappointed to hear that EuroUSC no longer have NQE status so are unable to complete the training for any of their customers. I completed my BNUC-s qualification and gained my Permission through them in early 21013 and several of us, at The UAV Academy have worked for EuroUSC in the past. It is […]

UAVAir, like many other organisations in the drone sector, was disappointed to learn that EuroUSC lost its NQE status recently. But as well as losing an institution that was integral to the early days and development of the industry, many customers are now also left lost and wondering how they can still follow their dreams […]

Kespry, the leading aerial intelligence platform provider, today announced that industry leader, George Mathew has been appointed as the company’s new chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman. He was most recently president and chief operating officer of self-service analytics software provider Alteryx. With 20 years of experience at growth-oriented technology startups as well as category […]

Agribotix™, a leader in drone-enabled agricultural intelligence, has partnered with senseFly, the world’s leading producer of professional fixed-wing drones, to offer a new combined solution for professional users. This premium technology solution combines the top drone, sensor and agricultural data processing technologies available today to make collecting and analyzing aerial data easier than ever, with […]

Dedrone has secured the support of five well-known founders and executives from Silicon Valley, raising a seven-figure amount. Investing in the San Francisco-based start-up are Dominic Orr, CEO of Aruba Networks, Selina Lo, CEO of Ruckus Wireless, Hans Robertson, co-founder and COO of Meraki, Tom Noonan, former chairman, president and CEO of Internet Security Systems, […]

Drone Delivery Canada ‘DDC or the Company’ (CSE:FLT), is pleased to announce it has formalised an agreement to expand its testing from the Waterloo region to now include a second province, namely, Foremost Alberta – Canada’s first Transport Canada approved drone UAV test range in Canada. In Foremost, AB, DDC will be focusing on Beyond Visual […]

Word is reaching sUAS News towers that Andre Clot’s training empire is in trouble. EuroUSC was formed before National Qualified Entities (NQE) existed. They were recognised as an airworthiness organisation providing assessments of UAS pilot competence. Richard Taylor of the CAA speaking to sUAS News said, “On 23 December 2016 we withdrew that recognition and as […]

Pittsburgh, PA – In an increasingly dynamic commercial drone market, Identified Technologies today announced it’s high flying 2016 growth. The company which provides a fully managed commercial drone solution to the industrial sector (including construction, energy, and mining companies) grew revenues by 900%, added 325% more customers, and increased headcount by 150%. “Scaling SaaS companies […]