The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) has announced that it has received a four-year waiver from the FAA to operate UAS over people.
According to NDDOT, this is the first time that a North Dakota state agency has received a waiver to routinely conduct UAS operations over people. The approval was for a DJI Mavic 2 series equipped with a ParaZero SafeAir parachute recovery system.
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From Unmanned Systems magazine: Fiscal 2020 defense budget request includes billions for unmanned systems
In March, the White House released a fiscal 2020 defense budget request totaling $718.3 billion, which it said would invest in space and cyber warfighting domains, modernize air, maritime and land domains, innovate more rapidly to strengthen the nation's competitive advantage, and sustain the forces and readiness.
As part of the request, the services release budget estimates that detail unclassified procurement and research, development, test & evaluation (RDT&E) efforts.
Black Swift Technologies to develop UAS that can autonomously track eyewall of tropical cyclones and hurricanes
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded Black Swift Technologies (BST) a contract to develop an air-deployed UAS to perform lower boundary layer observations in difficult atmospheric conditions that are commonly encountered in convective storms such as hurricanes and tropical cyclones.
Known as the S0 Air-Deployed UAS, the proposed vehicle would be tube-launched from an aircraft such as NOAA’s Lockheed P3 Orion.
XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator completes all test objectives during June flight
After completing its inaugural flight in March, the XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator successfully completed all of its test objectives during a June 11 flight at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona.
The flight lasted 71 minutes.
“The XQ-58A is the first Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology flight demonstrator with (unmanned aircraft systems) technology to change the way we fly and fight, and build and buy,” says Doug Szczublewski, program manager.
IMSAR, Optisys develop SWaP radar specifically for HALE platforms
IMSAR LLC, a privately owned research, development, and manufacturing company that specializes in lightweight, low-power Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) devices and radar image processing, has teamed up with Optisys LLC, a privately-owned RF design and additive manufacturing company, to create a low-Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) radar, which is designed to be used on High Altitude, Long Endurance (HALE) platforms.
The high-altitude radar system combines Optisys's ability to miniaturize antenna arrays through 3D printing with IMSAR's military-proven radar technology.
Gwent Police to use latest UAS to keep communities and officers safe
Gwent Police in Gwent, Wales has launched its latest UAS.
Gwent Police worked with UAS manufacturers during an eight-month trial to build and test the first bespoke Police drone in Wales, resulting in the Sky Mantis UAS, which will be used for a variety of operations including searches for high-risk missing people, policing large-scale events and disorder, and crime scene photography.
“Across the trial, the drones have proved their worth, saving the force approximately £46,800 across 36 incidents and has also been used in place of helicopters in the appropriate places,” says Inspector Gavin Clifton.
ESAero awarded SBIR Phase II Award from NASA for eVTOL and UAM
Empirical Systems Aerospace Inc. (ESAero) has announced that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Award from NASA.
Currently in negotiation, the award is under NASA Topic A1.06 for Vertical Lift Technology and Urban Air Mobility.
ESAero says that its proposal, “Validation of UAM Dynamics Modeling Tool Suite Using Scaled Modular Aerial Research Testbed,” will “comprehensively address a gap in knowledge due to a lack of publicly available datasets for the dynamic handling qualities of UAM and eVTOL aircraft powered by all-electric or hybrid-electric propulsion systems.”
AeroVironment acquires VTOL drone maker Pulse Aerospace
AeroVironment says it has acquired Kansas-based Pulse Aerospace, which sells small unmanned helicopters, for $25.7 million in cash, financing the deal entirely from available cash on hand.
The deal includes milestone-based earn-out payments of $5 million, Simi Valley, California-based AeroVironment says, and adds new VTOL options to its UAS portfolio.
Pulse Aerospace sells small vertical takeoff and landing systems, along with its HeliSynth technology, which AV says "brings flight control, payload and endurance capabilities to market at attractive price points for both defense and commercial end markets."
Honeywell unveils new tech for autonomous and Urban Air Mobility vehicles
Honeywell has unveiled a new compact “fly-by-wire” system for autonomous and Urban Air Mobility vehicles.
According to Honeywell, the flight control computer, which packs the “brains” of an airliner's flight controls into one system, adds stability to the designs of autonomous and Urban Air Mobility vehicles, by driving electric actuators and dynamically adjusting flight surfaces and motors for smoothly following flight paths.
The computer, which also reduces turbulence, allows designers to push the limits of aerodynamics, ultimately eliminating the need for heavy hydraulics, control cables or pushrods.
