Parrot has announced that it will participate in an operational assessment to support an Army production award decision, as part of the final steps of the selection process for the United States Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance drone program.
The company will now begin manufacturing prototypes of its dedicated drone in the U.S. Designed with carefully selected components, Parrot’s mature prototype has been approved for initial manufacturing.
“Parrot is honored to work with the DoD on this highly strategic project,” says Laurent Rouchon, VP Security & Defense at Parrot.
UAS
UAS
AeroVironment to provide Raven small UAS and training to allied nation
AeroVironment has announced that on March 3, it received a $2,424,595 firm-fixed-price contract to provide an allied nation with its Raven small UAS and training.
Delivery is anticipated by August of this year.
“With its rugged design, small footprint and high resolution sensor capabilities, the combat-proven Raven offers allied forces the actionable intelligence they need at a moment’s notice in the most extreme environments,” says Rick Pedigo, vice president of sales and business development for AeroVironment.
FAA announces two new participants for unmanned aircraft Traffic Management Pilot Program
The FAA’s NextGen program has selected Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership in Blacksburg, Virginia, and Griffiss International Airport in Rome, New York as test site participants for Phase 2 of the unmanned aircraft Traffic Management Pilot Program (UPP).
UPP Phase 1, which was a collaborative effort between NASA, FAA UAS test sites and their industry partners, was completed in Aug. 2019. Capabilities tested during Phase 1 included the exchange of flight intent data among UAS operators. Participants also generated UAS Volume Reservations (UVRs), which are notifications to operators about inbound priority operations.
Elbit Systems awarded contracts to upgrade capabilities of its Hermes 900 UAS
Elbit Systems Ltd. has been awarded two contracts valued at a total of approximately $20 million to upgrade the capabilities of its Hermes 900 UAS.
Asylon, Ghost Robotics to develop robotic platform under new contract
The United States Air Force Research Lab has awarded Asylon Inc. a contract to provide the future of persistent ISR, inspection and perimeter security.
According to Asylon, this includes the exploration of the ability to use available water-based resources in the mission operating environment to generate power and recharge air and ground autonomous platforms, which will allow them to operate longer at the point of need.
Under this contract, Asylon has partnered with Ghost Robotics. The companies will develop a combined, autonomous, and self-powering air and ground robotic platform by integrating their respective robotic systems. The platform will use DroneHome, which is Asylon’s patented automated battery SWAP base station.
Army unit begins testing Arcturus UAS as service ponders Shadow replacement
The U.S. Army has begun evaluating tactical unmanned aircraft systems intended to replace the venerable RQ-7 Shadow drone, which has been in service since the early 2000s.
The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division conducted the first soldier-operated flight on April 7, flying an Arcturus Jump 20, a 210-pound aircraft with an 18-foot wingspan that is capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL).
It's also quieter than the Shadow.
"We’re used to screaming at each other and having to use radios in order to communicate,” Spc. Christopher McCoy, a crew chief, said in an Army press release. “You can stand right next to this aircraft and not even raise your voice."
Weekend Roundup: April 10, 2020
This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World
On April 7, the Arcturus UAV JUMP 20 underwent its first soldier-operated flight in a capabilities assessment. Arcturus is the first candidate in the running to replace the Army’s RQ-7 Shadow UAS. (Defense News)
GA-ASI flies SkyGuardian RPA in NAS above Southern California as part of joint demo with NASA
As part of a joint flight demonstration with NASA, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA‑ASI) flew its SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) in the skies above Southern California on April 3.
Since 2014, GA-ASI and NASA have worked together to prove the safety of flying large UAS in the National Airspace System (NAS). GA-ASI was selected to participate in NASA’s Systems Integration and Operationalization (SIO) activity, which includes multiple flight demonstrations that focus on different types of UAS and their respective flight environments.
Rakuten Mobile, Rakuten AirMap to use drones to conduct completion inspections of base stations
Rakuten Mobile Inc. will work with Rakuten Group company Rakuten AirMap Inc. to conduct completion inspections of base stations for its mobile network using drones.
Traditionally, completion inspections would be conducted by an engineer that climbs the antenna tower on which the base station is installed and visually inspects the equipment, but these inspections raise several concerns regarding safety, the time required to conduct the inspections and personnel costs.
Using drones for completion inspections would allow them to be conducted in a shorter amount of time, more efficiently and with a higher degree of safety, as the UAS will be used to take multi-angle photographs of the newly constructed base stations.
FAA awarding $2.6 million in grants to universities to advance drone ops
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao recently announced that the FAA is awarding $2.6 million in research, education, and training grants to universities that make up the agency’s Air Transportation Center of Excellence (COE) for UAS, which is also known as Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE).
The grants are designed to advance specific goals and projects.
“The research funded by these grants will provide valuable data as the Department leads the way to chart a course for the safe integration of drones into our national airspace,” Secretary Chao said.
