28 Nov 14. CybAero’s RPAS to be tested on Swedish Navy vessels. The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has selected CybAero to carry out test and demonstration flights of its APID helicopter systems from a Swedish Navy Visby-class corvette. As part of the flight trials, which will take place next year, CybAero will test its remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to assess the strategic and tactical gains when integrated on Swedish Navy vessels. The RPAS can also be deployed for maritime applications and CybAero has been working to develop its systems in this sector. China Customs, which is CybAero’s first-end client within maritime applications, will be the first to receive RPAS. Hult added: “Now that we have been chosen by FMV to conduct the test and demonstration flights, we have a great opportunity to put our systems on display and this will serve as a good reference point for potential clients in Sweden and abroad.” The autonomous, unmanned helicopter (VTOL UAV) APID 60 comprises the helicopter platform, including avionics and data links, and payload, in addition to a ground station with control units, including video monitors and data links. (Source: naval-technology.com)
02 Dec 14. Portuguese Air Force to have UAS Fleet in 2 years. The Portuguese Air Force (FAP) is working on the development of a new unmanned aerial vehicle weighing 500-600 pounds. The FAP wants to create a new fleet of drones to patrol and monitoring of maritime space. Today, the FAP uses drones to the different missions of patrolling and monitoring of Exclusive Economic Zone or the Continental Shelf Extension – within two years, the same FAP is likely to also use unmanned aerial vehicles to cover the extensive Portuguese maritime area. ”We do not know how many unmanned aerial vehicles will have the new station. Through various tests, let’s try to understand how many vehicles will be needed to ensure the monitoring of maritime space ‘, says José Morgado, director of the Research Centre of the Air Force Academy, on the sidelines of the 8th Congress of the Portuguese Committee of the International Organization of Sciences Radio. In the plans of the Air Force Academy include the development of drones weighing between 500 and 600kg and an energy autonomy for 24 hours of flight. Vehicles will be able to independently perform predefined missions, but should not be equipped with weapons. “These vehicles are used only for monitoring of maritime space, and will be used to supplement manned aircraft and not as substitutes” replies Jose Morgado, recalling that unmanned vehicles can perform monitoring tasks with lower costs than those of manned aircraft. For the foreseeable future, the Air Force Academy will begin testing models between 150 and 200 kg to gradually gain skills for developing drones that have dimensions record holders compared to models that FAP (as of the Academy of Air Force had not gone beyond the 150kg). With the development of larger models, the FAP can ensure longer flight range and then able to use larger sensors – including the radar, which can especially be useful for monitoring large areas, such as those constitute the national maritime space. The FAP will design the new drone, but the manufacture shall be delivered to commercial and industrial partners who will be selected in the near future. In March and 2015, two years after debuting the drone of 600 pounds, the FAP will make known UAS30 (in the photos included on this page), a drone taking off 25 pounds with the help of a catapult and lands with the support a network. The project hitch about a year and a half, with a challenge by EDP, intended to test the use of small drones for inspection of power lines. The UAS30 was developed in partnership with the CEIIA (Center for Excellence and Innovation of the Automotive Industry in Matosinhos) to meet the challenge of EDP and also to address many other areas that may benefit from the use of drones. “It could be to patrol certa