UAV

Boeing plans to have a new unmanned platform based on the X-45C in the air by December 2010. Dubbed Phantom Ray, the internally funded venture will build on the knowledge gained in the shelved X-45 project, which saw the X-45A unmanned aircraft complete 64 flights between 2002 and 2005, achieving a number of milestones including the first precision weapons demonstration by an unmanned combat system and the first autonomous multivehicle flight under the control of a single pilot. Phantom Ray will be based on the larger, fighter-sized, X-45C which appeared at airshows as a full-scale mock-up during 2004. Read More

We continue to be optimistic about the future of personal flight - and from flying cars to coaxial flying platforms, ion-powered jetpacks and more recreational solutions, plenty of innovative designs are striving for viability. We haven't seen anything like this one before though - Entecho has come up with an operating prototype of a sort of cylindrical fan-forced flying saucer, steered by directing the downward airflow through a flexible skirt that allows easy directional control. The blades are not exposed and move reasonably slowly, it's stable in flight and the system is remarkably simple from a mechanical point of view. It's also quite simple to fly using a joystick controller. Totally VTOL and with a small footprint, perhaps the Entecho Hoverpod might deliver as a practical and affordable personal flight solution. Read More

May 1, 2009 The idea of replacing very expensive space based satellites and Aircraft mounted Airborne Warning And Control Systems (AWACS) with stationary platforms inside Earth's atmosphere has been floated for decades. Despite the fact that lighter-than-air vehicles or airships that could fulfill this role have been flying for over 300 years, the idea is only now getting off the ground. Lockheed Martin has been chosen by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for a US$400 million contract to to design, build, test and fly a 1:3 scale model of an airship surveillance and telecommunications platform called the High Altitude Airship (HAA). The full scale HAA would measure 240 ft long by 70 ft in diameter, run entirely on solar power and be able to stay aloft for up to 10 years. Read More

Late last year reports surfaced of a modified radio controlled helicopter equipped with a .45 caliber hand gun, including a video of the RC copter doing target practice with live ammunition (see below). It seems the US Army have been thinking along the same lines, except this version carries a .338 caliber sniper rifle. Read More

AeroVironment's Raven UAV system has been used to demonstrate the viability of small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as a low-cost surveillance alternative in a continuous 30-hour persistent surveillance test flight. Conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Army Product Manager for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), the demonstration involved unbroken surveillance of a target site using one standard production Raven RQ-11B baseline system (three aircraft and two ground control stations) operated by two-person crews working in eight-hour shifts. Read More

Autonomous flying quadcopter robots, built from off-the-shelf parts in €300 kits (US$380) could be used to establish radio networks for phones and wireless Internet in disaster zones. Under development by researchers at the Ilmenau University of Technology, the bots are equipped with satellite navigation, GPS, and VIA Pico-ITX hardware. Read More

A variety of solar powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have been setting world records for flight duration and altitude in recent times, there are even plans for solar powered craft that can remain aloft for years at a time. But it's not just aircraft of the unmanned variety that stand to benefit from solar technology, with planes that carry pilots now starting to take to the skies. Based on glider/sailplane construction methods, the Sunseeker II is the only manned solar airplane flying in the world, and according to SolarFlight, it has logged more time in the air than all other manned solar powered airplanes combined. Read More

February 16, 2009 Expected to survive autonomously for extended periods of time in hostile conditions, Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) could be seen as decidedly unglamorous in comparison to their airborne cousins – and none more so than the proposed Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR) from Robotic Technology, which will suffer the indignity of ingesting and expelling biomass to fuel itself, presumably with no toilet paper. Scatalogical humor aside, it's a remarkable project which promises to greatly extend the capability of unmanned roving bots with researchers estimating that 150 pounds of vegetation could give it enough juice for 100 miles of driving. Read More

AeroVironment, Inc. will produce 50 new Raven RQ-11B unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) equipped with enhanced communications following the announcement of a USD$16.8 Million order from the U.S. Army on January 22. The company's new Digital Data Link (DDL) replaces the original four-channel analog set-up, increasing communication channels by a factor of four and allowing more of the unmanned craft to be flown in one area simultaneously. Read More