04 Feb 16. Invitation to Review NATO UAS Airworthiness Requirements. The US Government has issued an Invitation to the Unmanned Aircraft Industry for Review and Comment Period on Edition 1 of NATO Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 4703 Light Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Airworthiness Requirements. The NATO STANAG 4703 CST is seeking points of contact (POC) from U.S. UAS Unmanned Aircraft System Industry who are interested in participating in a formal review of STANAG 4703 Edition The STANAG 4703 CST is seeking written comments and/or concerns from industry that will be provided to the CST for review and consideration for incorporation in future editions of the STANAG. NATO STANAG 4703 contains a set of technical airworthiness requirements intended for the airworthiness certification of fixed-wing light military UAS with a maximum take-off weight not greater than 150 kg that intend to regularly operate in non-segregated airspace over all population densities. These requirements represent the minimum acceptable airworthiness requirements for design and construction of military fixed-wing UAS intended to operate in non-segregated airspace.
STANAG 4703 is intended to be implemented for airworthiness certification of Light UAS within each nation’s national regulatory framework.
Interested participant POC information will be forwarded to the STANAG 4703 CST Chairman by the STANAG 4703 U.S. Head of Delegation. A copy of STANAG 4703 will be provided to interested participants once the POC information is received by the U.S. Delegation. The intent of this effort is to collect comments from NATO member Fixed Wing UAS Industries, to disposition the comments, and at a future date hold an Industry Day to discuss industry comments provided in an open forum. Keywords: Fixed Wing, Light, UAS, UAV, Remotely Piloted Vehicle, Unmanned Aircraft, Unmanned Air Vehicle, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Unmanned Air System, Airworthiness. (Source: UAS VISION/Federal Register)
04 Feb 16. UK to Order Two Zephyrs from Airbus. The British government is close to ordering two solar-powered high-altitude Zephyr UAVs from European aerospace giant Airbus. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced in a statement that the deal was worth £10.6 million ($15.2m, 14m euros), in the first ever order for Airbus Zephyr unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
“The MoD is pleased to announce it is close to signing a contract with Airbus Defence and Space to build in the UK and test two Zephyr UAVs as part of a commitment to provide next-generation battlefield intelligence capabilities to the UK Armed Forces,” it said.
The Zephyr is a highly sophisticated UAV capable of flying for long periods at very high altitudes and can carry a payload of up to five kilogrammes (11 pounds).
It flies at 70,000 feet (21 kilometers) above sea level — more than twice the altitude of a commercial airliner — for up to 45 days at a time.
The MoD added that it would use the Zephyr for surveillance and intelligence missions, in line with the government’s defence strategy given last November.
“High altitude aircraft will provide next-generation battlefield intelligence to our armed forces,” Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said in the statement.
“They will be able to fly higher and for longer to gather constant, reliable information over vast geographical areas.”
The Zephyr was originally developed by British defence research company QinetiQ, but the programme and its staff were acquired by Airbus in 2013. (Source: UAS VISION/Business Recorder)
04 Feb 16. Iran Sanction Lift Allows European Dual-Use UAV Trade.
Following the lifting of sanctions on Iran, dual-use unmanned air vehicles can now be exported from the European Union, subject to authorisation.
Trade restrictions on Tehran were eased following the nuclear disarmament Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action enforced in January. This had previously prevented the sale of dual-use UAVs – defined at the time as those with an autonomous f