In conjunction with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Graduate Institute, Jenny Laird, the UAS lead for the ERDC’s Environmental Laboratory (EL), established the USACE UAS training program at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi. As UAS technology became more advanced and affordable over the last few years, the USACE began using the technology in new and innovative ways, but the USACE UAS program had no unified standard, making adoption of the technology throughout the organization “disorganized and decentralized.” Just one year into his position as the aviation program manager at USACE headquarters, Jason Kirkpatrick advised the Army Chief of Staff that the USACE UAS program was at high risk, primarily for training.

With help from its sales agent Air Canada, Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) has entered into a commercial agreement with DSV Air & Sea Inc. Canada (DSV), the Canadian arm of the global transport and logistics company DSV Panalpina A/S. Through the agreement, DSV will use DDC's Sparrow cargo drone to deliver healthcare related cargo from its warehouse in Milton, Ontario to DSV customers locally.  “We are currently flying hundreds of successful flights per month at DSV for their first route, and we are pleased to announce a second paid route with DSV,” says Michael Zahra, president & CEO of DDC. 

The Australian government will provide funding for an additional MQ-4C Triton aircraft

In front of select military forces from across the globe, Milrem Robotics and John Cockerill Defense showcased the Type-X Robotic Combat Vehicle with the Cockerill Protected Weapons Station Gen. II (CPWS II). The Type-X chassis features what the companies describe as a “revolutionary design” for a mobile modular multi-mission vehicle that provides a platform for a family of unmanned armored vehicles. According to the companies, the Type-X is the “first combat vehicle that is purposefully designed to be unmanned intended to be an integral part of mechanized units.”