Boeing has signed an agreement with Urban Aeronautics' subsidiary Tactical Robotics to explore the development of a ducted fan propulsion technology, which could potentially be used for piloted and autonomous light aircraft. The companies will use a joint working group to determine what opportunities may exist for the development, production and marketing of Fancraft–based vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) products such as Tactical Robotics’ Cormorant. Thanks to its compact, Humvee-sized footprint, Cormorant is capable of conducting emergency response missions such as delivering food, water and supplies during natural disasters or in combat environments. The vehicle can also carry up to four patients for medical evacuations.

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has extended the contract for Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 UAS to the end of the year after two months of successful maritime surveillance services for the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Croatia. Based on the Croatian island of Brač, EMSA’s Camcopter S-100 performs regular day and night patrolling flights, on-demand incident monitoring missions and specific inspection operations. Thus far, the UAS, which is equipped with Harris L3 Wescam Electro-Optical / Infra-Red (EO/IR) camera, an Overwatch Imaging PT-8 Oceanwatch payload and an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver, has completed 67 missions and 210 flight hours during two months of maritime operations. 

Schiebel has announced that in late August, its Camcopter S-100 UAS performed a five-day maritime surveillance demonstration aboard Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Turva in the Gulf of Finland, as part of test trials by the Border and Coast Guard Division of the Finnish Border Guard. Flying both during the day and at night, the UAS completed a variety of tasks including searching, locating and recognizing objects, as well as surveillance for maximum situational awareness. The test was part of the ongoing Valvonta2 -project (Surveillance2), which is being led by Finnish Border Guard, and funded by European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

Empirical Systems Aerospace Inc. (ESAero) has announced that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Award from NASA. Currently in negotiation, the award is under NASA Topic A1.06 for Vertical Lift Technology and Urban Air Mobility. ESAero says that its proposal, “Validation of UAM Dynamics Modeling Tool Suite Using Scaled Modular Aerial Research Testbed,” will “comprehensively address a gap in knowledge due to a lack of publicly available datasets for the dynamic handling qualities of UAM and eVTOL aircraft powered by all-electric or hybrid-electric propulsion systems.”