This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World

In the current uncertain business environment, manufacturing demand has visibly shifted — ventilators, masks and other key items are needed in vast quantities and at short notice.   As a manufacturer you want to keep producing, and the government’s Defense Production Act could enable manufacturing organizations to alter production to cater for the new demand.   Matt Medley, Senior Product Manager at IFS, an enterprise software company, explains how the act works and how it can benefit your organization if you are agile enough.   

According to a new study by Washington's Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), the fleet of high-flying, long-endurance unmanned aircraft operated by the United States and its allies could be a vital hedge against efforts by Russia and China to expand their borders and influence. The report, "Deterrence by Detection: A Key Role for Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Great Power Detection," says Russia and China can conduct rapid strikes on neighboring countries on their peripheries, often before the United States or its allies could react.

Black Swift Technologies (BST) has been awarded a USAF SBIR Phase II contract to develop a UAS that can autonomously conduct atmospheric profiling to support more accurate cargo drops and improved localized weather forecasts in support of Air Force, Army and Special Operations Forces (SOF) operations. Known as the Black Swift SØ (S-zero), the compact, rugged aerial platform is designed to be hand-launched with the ability to quickly climb up to 15,000 feet. It is capable of a deep-stall landing with near vertical descent and 10-foot accuracy thanks to its unique tail design. Its rapid ascent and descent capabilities allow the UAS to quickly and accurately capture 3-dimensional (3D) wind profiles at a variety of levels, which is crucial for precision cargo drops.