During the Red Bull Air Race in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 UAS conducted a flight display.
Returning to its Austrian roots for the sixth race of the season, the Red Bull Air Race partnered with Schiebel in Wiener Neustadt, which is where the Camcopter S-100 production facility is located.
“The history of our company is strongly connected to the location of Wiener Neustadt and we are excited to be partnered with Red Bull Air Race 2018,” says Hannes Hecher, CEO of Schiebel.
“This presents a wonderful opportunity to bring together unmanned and manned aviation and give the audience a taste of the expertise and vision represented by the two sectors.”
VTOL
VTOL
Swift Engineering uses Swift020 UAS for forestry mission in Japan
Swift Engineering, which provides products, technologies and “fully integrated product development solutions from ideation to market,” recently flew its Swift020 UAS over densely forested areas within the Ishikawa prefecture in Japan.
Swift Engineering worked with a number of entities to complete the flights from July 23 to 25, including the local forest cooperative association, key forestry industry leaders and members of the Ishikawa Prefecture Research Center for Agriculture and Forestry.
MartinUAV incorporating Persistent Systems' Wave Relay MANET technology into its V-BAT UAS
Persistent Systems has entered into a five-year partnership with MartinUAV that will result in MartinUAV incorporating Persistent’s Wave Relay Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) technology into its small vertical takeoff-and-land (VTOL) UAS known as V-BAT.
“Persistent is proud to have been selected out of the many commercially available datalink solutions,” says Louis Sutherland, VP Business Development for Persistent Systems.
“This agreement cements Persistent’s line of Wave Relay MANET products as the exclusive communications solution for MartinUAV’s unmanned products.”
Lockheed Martin's Stalker eXtended Endurance UAS receives VTOL capability upgrade
Lockheed Martin has announced that its Stalker eXtended Endurance UAS has received a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability upgrade, which, according to Lockheed, gives users “greater mission flexibility,” and allows them to operate the system in more “austere locations.”
Aside from featuring a reduced logistics footprint, the new VTOL option also expands how and where the Stalker XE UAS may operate. Additionally, Lockheed notes that other launch alternatives include a pneumatic rail or a standard bungee launch system.
AV, FlightWave team to add VTOL tech to small UAS
Things are looking up for AeroVironment in terms of vertical takeoff and landing capabilities planned for a new family of unmanned aircraft.
The company has teamed with FlightWave Aerospace Systems to produce Shrike 2, a new small UAS that can takeoff and land like a quadcopter but transition to forward flight as needed, using FlightWave’s patented Edge VTOL technology.
“We’ll be adding this to family of systems,” says David Sharpin, vice president of the company’s tactical UAS business unit. A small system similar to the one on display in their booth is expected by the end of the year, with two larger variations already in development.
MDA selects Schiebel's CAMCOPTER S-100 UAS to fulfill contract with international customer
MDA, which is a Maxar Technologies company, has commissioned a fleet of Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER S-100 UAS to fulfill a contract with an international customer.
According to Schiebel, MDA chose the CAMCOPTER S-100 UAS because of its “impressive track record of providing critical support in sea- and land-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.”
The S-100 is a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) UAS with a relatively small logistical footprint. This small logistical footprint allows for flexible and rapid deployment.
Schiebel says that “by day and night, the UAS functions as a platform capable of carrying a wide range of high-end payloads.”
UAVOS introduces new VTOL UAV
During the UMEX conference in Abu Dhabi, UAVOS Inc. is introducing “«SURVEYOR-H» Unmanned Aerial System with «UVH-290E» drone vertical takeoff/landing.”
In the “tractor” modification, the new unmanned helicopter has a takeoff weight of 192 pounds. UAVOS says that the UAV is designed so that parameters such as durability, extended operation life, ease of use and serviceability have a priority over flight time and load capacity of UAVs.
Airbus' Vahana aircraft successfully completes first full-scale flight test
Vahana, which is the all electric, self-piloted, VTOL aircraft from A³ by Airbus, successfully completed its first full-scale flight test on Jan. 31.
During the test, which was completed at the Pendleton UAS Range in Pendleton, Oregon, Vahana reached a height of 16 feet, before descending safely. The fully self-piloted flight lasted for a total of 53 seconds.
“Today we are celebrating a great accomplishment in aerospace innovation,” says Zach Lovering, Project Executive of Vahana.
Boeing plans to use its new CAV prototype to test and evolve its autonomy technology
Boeing has unveiled a new unmanned electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) cargo air vehicle (CAV) prototype. The CAV prototype will be used to “test and evolve Boeing's autonomy technology for future aerospace vehicles.”
Powered by an environmentally-friendly electric propulsion system, and outfitted with eight counter rotating blades that allow for vertical flight, the CAV prototype is designed to transport a payload up to 500 pounds for possible future cargo and logistics applications.
AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2018
This premier event unites the largest global community of drone, intelligent robotics and unmanned systems leaders to shape the future of the industry. Featuring the largest and most comprehensive trade show, this event is the spot to learn from daily keynotes with tech visionaries and 200+ world-class sessions as well as connect with 8,500+ industry pros and business experts from 20+ industries.
www.xponential.org