UPS has applied for Part 135 certification to conduct commercial UAS flights in the UPS network under a subsidiary business called UPS Flight Forward Inc.
A recently incorporated business, UPS Flight Forward could receive Part 135 certification as early as this year, which would lay the groundwork for UPS having one of the first fully-certified, revenue-generating drone operations in the United States.
When approved, the certification will lay the foundation for UAS operations beyond an operator’s visual line of sight (BVLOS), as well as for flights that occur during the day or night.
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Pierce Aerospace, Redwing Labs partner to advance global medical drone deliveries
In an effort to advance global medical drone deliveries, Pierce Aerospace has announced a partnership with a drone delivery company based in Bengaluru, India called Redwing Labs.
The partnership will leverage the respective strengths of each company, including Pierce Aerospace’s Remote Identification expertise and technologies, and Redwing Labs' long-distance delivery UAS and operations.
“I am happy to see Redwing Labs and Pierce Aerospace combining efforts to advance medical drone delivery around the world,” says Aaron Pierce, CEO Pierce Aerospace.
Terra Drone Brazil completes Brazil's first-ever drone inspection of an offshore FPSO tank
Terra Drone Brazil, a group company of Terra Drone Corporation, has successfully completed Brazil’s first-ever drone inspection of an offshore Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) tank.
The inspection was performed for Petrobras, which is Brazil’s state-owned oil company.
The ballast tank inspection using UAS was conducted aboard an FPSO unit from Petrobras called P-66, which is operating in the Pre Salt Area at Santos Basin.
Terra Drone Brazil notes that in order to stay on top of maintenance needs, Petrobras needs its cargo and ballast tanks inspected regularly, so that any kind of corrosion, cracks, fractures, or welding anomalies can be identified in a timely manner before they cause damage to the structural integrity of the ship.
Grand Sky to purchase Firebird aircraft from Northrop Grumman
Grand Sky Development Company LLC (Grand Sky) has announced that it will purchase Northrup Grumman’s optionally piloted intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft system, Firebird.
Designed to provide critical ISR capability to meet the mission needs of customers, Firebird is available in manned, autonomous and optionally piloted configurations.
“We are excited to bring Firebird to Grand Sky to utilize its long-endurance and variable payload capabilities for commercial customers,” says Grand Sky Development Co. President Thomas Swoyer Jr.
GA-ASI marks 25th anniversary of Predator A UAS
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA‑ASI) recently marked the 25th anniversary of its Predator A UAS, which completed its first flight in July 1994, and made its operational debut the following year.
More than 320 Predator As have been delivered to customers across the world in support of global security. The product line remained in production until 2011.
Predator As have flown almost 141,000 missions, and have surpassed two million flight hours. GA-ASI notes that almost all of those hours were flown in support of combat missions.
“With innovation in mind, we have always looked for ways to challenge the industry standard,” says Linden Blue, CEO, GA-ASI.
DroneDeploy launches single platform for all UAS operations
DroneDeploy has launched a single platform for all UAS operations.
The new product release includes several features, including: Drone Operations Management; Workflow Integrations; Inspection with Manual Flight; Drone Academy and Earthworks. A thorough analysis of the new features can be found here.
“Today's product launch is a reflection of the demand from our customers for a complete enterprise-grade drone operating system,” says DroneDeploy chief executive officer and co-founder Mike Winn.
Involi, AirMap developing pre-integrated UTM and Air Traffic Awareness platform
Involi, a provider of air traffic data for UAS, is partnering with AirMap to develop a pre-integrated UTM and Air Traffic Awareness platform for safe, efficient, and scalable UAS operations.
By combining its low-altitude air traffic data service with AirMap’s drone traffic management platform, Involi says that the companies can facilitate safe, complex, and autonomous UAS applications such as drone delivery, large-scale agriculture support, surveying and mapping.
“It was a natural progression for Involi and AirMap to formalize their ongoing technical integration,” says Involi CEO and co-founder Manu Lubrano.
Consortium tests using UAS to deliver temperature-dependent medicines and vaccines to hard-to-reach locations
A consortium made up of AT&T, Direct Relief, Merck and Softbox has completed a program that tested the potential of using UAS to deliver
Delair's subscription program gives customers access to its Delair UX11 family of UAS
Delair has announced its new subscription program called Delair Takeoff, which allows customers to access the company’s Delair UX11 family of UAS, as well as the company’s cloud-based data management platform, delair.ai.
Airobotics unveils new highly drone-stabilized payload
During ADS’ 2019 Warrior Expo East, Airobotics unveiled Trion, its highly drone-stabilized payload for inspection and security applications.
The first in-house developed and manufactured sensor for the market by Airobotics, Trion is available both with and independent of the company’s automated UAS hardware and data insights platform.
Described as a “high-definition, Electro-Optical and InfraRed gyro-stabilized” payload, Trion weighs less than 1.2 kilograms and is small in dimension. According to Airobotics, Trion “pushes the limits” on the existing and competing capabilities of today’s stabilized payloads, as it is equipped with a “unique set” of advanced capabilities for object identification, real-time tracking and comprehensive data harvesting.