06 Jul 05. Sagem Défense Sécurité (SAFRAN Group) has conducted a successful test flight of its tactical Sperwer UAV system at the French Air Force test center at Istres in southern France. A ground control station located more than 180km from the launching site was used to fly the aircraft. The tactical Sperwer UAV, which will be delivered to the Greek Army, was launched from the Vergières site near the Istres test base. The primary ground control station transferred control of the drone to a secondary ground control station located near the Perthus pass in the Pyrenees. This remote station then completed the mission, which involved the UAV going through different attitudes and acquiring video and infrared images and localization targets. UAV control was transferred back to the Istres ground station at the end of the mission to ensure aircraft recovery.
This new technical success confirms the performance of the Sperwer UAV system. It also shows that it is perfectly adapted to tactical missions in harsh environments such as Afghanistan, where it has already been operated.
The armed forces of the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, France and Greece have all chosen the Sperwer tactical UAV system.
07 Sep 05. ParcAberporth Unmanned Systems. Largest flying demonstration of unmanned aerial vehicles ever held within civilian airspace in Europe takes place at ParcAberporth in South Wales next month – the first time that many of these systems have ever flown in the UK. Applications have been received to fly twelve vehicles – seven fixed wing aircraft, three rotary wing craft, one tilt rotar and one airship – making it the largest event of its kind in Europe¹. Some of the world’s leading developers of UAV technology will be participating in the event which includes flying and ground demonstrations, a field exhibition and showcase of unmanned vehicles. Backed by the UK Government, Welsh Assembly Government, Welsh Development Agency (WDA) and industry the event follows the successful launch last year of ParcAberporth as a UK centre of excellence for UAV systems development, testing and evaluation.
03 Aug 05. CLR Photonics, Inc. — a world leader in the development of lidar-based remote-sensing solutions designed for airport, meteorological, and homeland security applications — recently unveiled WindTracer(R) to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle market. Making its UAV market debut at the 2005 UAV Air Demo, WindTracer provided wind data onsite, in real time, for the operators of the UAVs. The 2005 UAV Air Demo was sponsored by the Naval Air Systems
Command, Program Executive Office for Strike Weapons and Unmanned Aviation, in conjunction with the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. The daylong demonstration, which focused on using UAV technology in the global war on terror, was held at the Webster Field Annex of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, located in St. Inigoes, Md. A large outdoor video screen enabled the attendees to see the same imagery viewed by the UAV operators, including wind data provided by WindTracer, while the various vehicles were demonstrated.
29 Jul 05. Metal Storm Limited announced that it has won a contract from Dragonfly Pictures, Inc. The initial contract, which will cover work through a live fire test specified for 2005 and 2006, is valued at US$325,000 (approx. AUD$422,297) and includes an option to expand the contract to US$431,100 (approx. AUD$560,160). The contract was awarded by Dragonfly Pictures, Inc. to integrate the Metal Storm 40MM weapons system into Dragonfly’s existing DP-4X Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) / Weapon System, and conduct a live fire test. This would constitute Metal Storm’s first flying demonstration of its technology on a UAV.