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UAS Industry News Date Line: 7 April 2010
News Line: CAA publishes 4th Edition of CAP722
Source: CAA
The CAA has updated CAP722 so that it now in line with ANO2009. To download a copy of the 4th Edition, click here. Date Line: 22 February 2010
News Line: Astrium and EADS in EDA UAV study
Source: Defence Contracts Bulletin
The European Defence Agency (EDA) has selected an Astrium and EADS Defence & Security (DS) consortium to lead a six-month study to demonstrate that it is feasible to integrate UAVs into civil airspace by using satellite communications.
EADS DS has more than 30 years experience in UAVs, while Astrium, Europe's largest space company, will determine what satellite-based services are need to operate UAVs safely in civil airspace and how they will be used.
Today UAVs only operate in segregated airspace for military operations. Integrating UAVs safely into civil airspace would enable them to be used to assist in a variety of civil and para-civil applications. These include maritime patrol, border surveillance, agriculture monitoring, weather/atmospheric data collection, and high-altitude geological and infrastructure mapping.
As part of the six-month feasibility study, the consortium will meet key European civil and military stakeholders. On completion of the study, the EDA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are expected to jointly fund a demonstration programme. Date Line: 22 February 2010
News Line: Deployed Global Hawks surpass 30,000 combat flying hours, 1,500 sorties
Source: Defpro
One of the largest unmanned aerial systems operating in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, the RQ-4 Global Hawk, surpassed 30,000 combat flying hours and 1,500 combat sorties Feb. 10 here.
The Global Hawks are assigned to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing from Beale Air Force Base, Calif. They provide a broad spectrum of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance collection capability to support joint combatant forces in worldwide peacetime, contingency and wartime operations.
The 380th AEW Global Hawks reached their 1,500th combat sortie on Feb. 10.
Date Line: 5 February 2010
News Line: AAI expands fee-for-service Unmanned Aircraft Systems capabilities
Source: Shephard
AAI Corporation, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company, announced today that it is expanding its fee-for-service unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) capabilities.
US Department of Defense (DoD) customers, as well as civil and scientific organizations, now can leverage contractor-owned, contractor-operated UAS services utilizing AAI's proven unmanned aircraft and ground control technologies.
"We have designed our UAS to be adaptable for our customers' evolving mission requirements," says Senior Vice President and General Manager Ellen Lord of AAI. "In just the same way, expanding our fee-for-service capabilities also enables us to be more flexible to help customers meet their growing and changing UAS needs. Based on the mission, customers can choose between our Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems, our Aerosonde fleet of small unmanned aircraft systems or the Orbiter miniature unmanned aircraft system."
Contractor-owned, contractor-operated UAS services allow customers to secure just the valuable data they require, even under a wide variety of operational conditions, without incurring the personnel cost or equipment, training and maintenance investment demanded by a UAS fleet. AAI's Logistics & Technical Services team includes experienced, highly skilled operators and maintainers who deliver reliable, thorough results for numerous mission requirements.
"AAI is a full-service UAS provider - from systems to total life cycle support, training and in-field services," says Vice President, Logistics & Technical Services Diane Giuliani of AAI. "Expanding our contractor-owned, contractor-operated UAS services is another way that our customers can reach out to AAI and receive a tailored, comprehensive solution."
Customers, including NASA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of Colorado and Australia's Defense Science and Technology Organisation, have benefited from thousands of fee-for-service flight hours using AAI's fleet of Aerosonde small unmanned aircraft systems. Most recently, the University of Colorado outfitted the Aerosonde Mark 4 aircraft with specialized instruments to capture extensive data on coastal winds in Antarctica. Despite heavy winds and temperatures as low as -38 degrees Celsius, four Aerosonde aircraft logged more than 130 flight hours and flew nearly 7,000 miles during their 16 flights. These aircraft also have proved their robust design amid desert sands, Arctic chill and dangerous, hurricane-force winds. |
