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04 May 17. US Navy considers UAVs to maintain visual on sailors at sea.
US Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) sailors have developed a new use for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to maintain a visual on the sailors at sea, especially during man-overboard situations.
Since 2006, more than 110 sailors and marines have fallen overboard with eight losing their lives, stated the Naval Safety Center.
Conducting operations during rough sea conditions and low visibility increase the risk of a crew member going overboard, and are the most difficult times to maintain a visual on the sailor.
Submarine Force, US Pacific Fleet (SUBPAC) commander lieutenant commander Christopher Keithley said: “Being on the sail of a sub during a night transit in stormy weather made me think about what if someone were to fall overboard, how hard would it be turn around and find them.
“As a submarine officer, I have done numerous man-overboard drills at sea where I gained an appreciation for the difficulty in keeping track of low-profile objects in even the calmest of seas. It was this background that I brought to one of our innovation Lab [iLab] events where the discussion of UAVs occurred.”
During the initial proof of concept pilot programme event, Keithley and his team from iLab worked in collaboration to move on with their plan.
Keithley added: “My UAV concept isn’t meant to replace current man-overboard procedures but work with them. Because of this programme, I was able to present my idea and hopefully contribute to solving this challenge.”
The idea has been selected to be presented at the next PACFLT Commander’s Conference in June.
Keithley added: “I’m grateful for this opportunity and hope one day I can see the man-overboard UAV used on every ship and submarine that operate in open water.” (Source: naval-technology.com)
04 May 17. Brazil’s Avionics Services in talks towards first Caçador UAV order. Avionics Services, a Brazilian company partly owned by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), is in initial talks with the Brazilian Armed Forces to sell its Caçador (Hunter) Class-4 multipurpose medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), company officials told Jane’s.
Caçador was certified by the Brazilian Ministry of Defence as a ‘strategic defence product’ in March 2017. Other potential sales were identified in Latin America and Africa, the company said.
IAI supplied technology and know-how for Caçador as part of a technology transfer agreement signed in 2013.
Brazil’s air force and navy have established efforts to buy MALE UAVs; the army is still in early stages of defining requirements. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
03 May 17. The global market for drones is expected to reach $22.15bn by 2022, according to a new report from Statistics MRC. While the military market for drones is only a subcategory of that market, military usage is also expected to grow. The report highlights the public sector applications for drone technologies, analysis on why the market is growing and other commercial applications. The drone market was valued at $5.93bn in 2015, making for a 20.7 percent compound annual growth rate for the predicted $22.15bn market value in 2022. Drone usage is expected to continue to grow for public safety use, in addition to military applications. In terms of public safety uses, drones can be used for law enforcement, firefighting, medical services, search and rescue operations, and emergency management. For military applications, drone technology can be used for border security, combat missions, intelligence gathering and surveillance. The report highlights challenges facing military drone usage, including privacy concerns, government regulations, controlling drones accidents and the lack of professional pilots. Drone technologies are expected to grow as a European export pro