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12 Jul 18. CAAS, EASA and Airbus collaborate to advance safety of unmanned aircraft systems in urban environment. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Airbus have agreed to collaborate in the development of safety standards and regulatory requirements for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in urban environments. The tripartite Project Document, which lays out the areas of collaboration, was signed by representatives from CAAS, EASA and Airbus. The Project Document establishes a framework for the exchange of information and technical expertise among the three parties, to facilitate the development of safety standards and regulatory requirements, as well as operational and technological assessments for the deployment of UAS in urban environments, such as last-mile deliveries, leveraging Airbus’ experience with the ongoing Skyways project1. The parties will also share safety information and learning outcomes from the urban UAS trials. The parties also agreed to jointly organise UAS-themed activities such as educational workshops and seminars.
Mr Kevin Shum, Director-General at CAAS said, “This tripartite partnership is timely as we seek to better define the operating conditions for the growing number of beneficial uses of UAS in urban environments such as Singapore, with aviation and public safety in mind. We look forward to working closely with our partners and sharing our experience gained thus far in developing regulatory requirements for UAS operations in Singapore.”
Mr Patrick Ky, Executive Director at EASA said, “Unmanned Aircraft Systems used in urban environments will shape the future of public transport. We could not find better partners than CAAS and Airbus to develop safety standards for this growing and fascinating technological development.”
Mr Jean-Brice Dumont, Executive Vice President, Engineering at Airbus said, “Airbus has been growing our focus on autonomous air mobility, and this tripartite collaboration is a positive move to shape up the safety regulations of UAS in city environments, turning urban air mobility into a business reality for us. Today, our Skyways UAS has demonstrated its ability to deliver air packages in an urban city. With the strong support of both CAAS and EASA, coupled with our experiences from Skyways, we are confident that safe and reliable urban air delivery will become a reality very soon.”
1[1] Skyways is an Airbus’ experimental project which aims to establish seamless multi-modal transportation networks in smart cities. Through Skyways, Airbus aims to develop an airborne infrastructure solution to address the sustainability and efficiency of parcel delivery businesses in large urban environments.
12 Jul 18. Elbit Systems commences global marketing of the HermesTM 900 StarLiner, a powerful and trend setting Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) that features adverse weather capabilities and is fully compliant with NATO’s Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 4671, qualifying it to be safely integrated into civilian airspace and fly in the same environment with manned aircraft. Concluding an extensive year-long flying schedule, the Hermes 900 StarLiner has been performing Civil Aviation Authority certified flights in Masada National Park, Israel. A series of the Hermes 900 StarLiner (known as Hermes 900 HFE in the Swiss program) is currently being assembled for the Swiss Armed Forces and is scheduled to be delivered and integrated into Switzerland NAS during 2019. Security events, such as the dismantling of ISIS and diverse geo-political tensions, have caused European countries to re-orient defense efforts from involvement in far-away conflicts to coping with intensifying homeland and border security challenges. This shift has resulted in a growing demand for advanced yet mature UAS that can be safely integrated into civilian airspace and provide the technological capabilities that are required to effectively and safely perform complex homeland and border security missions. Drawing on the legacy of the widely operational Hermes 900 and Hermes 450 and their proven technologies, Elbit Systems has conducted an extensive multi-year R&D effort focusing on producing a mature UAS that complies with civilian airspace regulations and can be safely integrated into European NAS. Meeting the strict safety and certification requirements of non-segregated airspace regulations required all the components of Hermes 900 StarLiner to be designed in full compliance with STANAG 4671 and to incorporate the most advanced aviation technologies, including: cooperative and non-cooperative Detect & Avoid Systems, Train Avoidance Warning System, Automatic Take-off and Landing in near zero visibility, redundant broad bandwidth line-of-sight (LOS) and beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) data link and adverse weather capabilities such as de-icing and direct lightning strike sustainment. These technological enhancements allow the aircraft to operate in both visual and instrument meteorological conditions, and its powerful heavy fuel engine provides improved climb rate, extended endurance and higher ceiling and maximum speed.
Elad Aharonson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Elbit Systems ISTAR Division, commented, “Anticipating the rising security need for operating unmanned aircraft in the same environment with civilian manned aircraft enabled us to achieve this breakthrough. We are committed to maintain our approach of technological innovation based on an extensive operational experience and provide our customers with advanced yet mature systems that enhance effectiveness and safety when coping with the evolving national security needs”.
Company officials will be available during the Farnborough Airshow to provide briefings on the HermesTM 900 StarLiner at Hall 1, booth # 1354. Kindly contact us to coordinate a meeting at the show.
11 Jul 18. Today at 6:51 p.m. (GMT+1) a Medium-altitude, Long-endurance (MALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) produced by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) made history as it landed at the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford in Gloucestershire, UK and became the first MALE RPA to successfully complete a trans-Atlantic flight. The GA-ASI-owned MQ-9B SkyGuardian took off from Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA on July 10th at 12:48 p.m. CDT. The flight covered 3,760 nautical mile flight in 24 hours 2 minutes.
“This historic event was a demonstration of the endurance and civil airspace capability of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian, and it is fitting to do this as part of the centennial celebration of the RAF,” said Linden Blue, CEO, GA-ASI. “The successful flight of the MQ-9B is the culmination of the hard work and innovation of our dedicated employees, and the strong relationships that we enjoy with the RAF, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) and our UK industry partners such as Cobham.”
RAF Fairford was the site of the RIAT airshow from 13 – 15 July. The MQ-9B will be on static display during the show. Over the past 10 years, the RAF has operated GA-ASI’s MQ-9 Reaper® RPA in support of the NATO and Coalition operations. The RAF is celebrating its 100-year anniversary (RAF100), so GA-ASI seized the opportunity to fly the newest MQ-9 version, MQ-9B to RIAT. The RAF configuration of MQ-9B will be called PROTECTOR RG Mk1.
MQ-9B is the next generation of GA-ASI’s multi-mission Predator® B fleet. GA-ASI named its baseline MQ-9B aircraft SkyGuardian, and the maritime surveillance variant SeaGuardian. MQ-9B is a “type-certifiable” (STANAG 4671-compliant) version of the MQ-9 Predator B product line. Its development is the result of a five-year, company-funded effort to deliver a RPA that can meet the stringent airworthiness type-certification requirements of various military and civil authorities, including the UK Military Airworthiness Authority (MAA) and the U.S. FAA. Type-certification, together with an extensively tested collision avoidance system, will allow unrestricted operations in all classes of civil airspace.
Paul Armstrong, Senior Vice President of Cobham Aviation Services UK, said: “The SkyGuardian trans-Atlantic flight is a significant and exciting event for both GA-ASI and for the future capability of the RAF. Cobham is proud to have a teaming agreement with GA-ASI for logistics and maintenance services, which builds on our present support of the Reaper Ground Control Stations. We look forward to working with both GA-ASI and the RAF as the PROTECTOR RG Mk1 comes into service.”
12 Jul 18. RAF looks at UAV swarms. A UK Royal Air Force (RAF) demonstrator project will examine how swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) could help traditional manned combat aircraft fight in complex and heavily defended airspace. Senior RAF sources told Jane’s that the project was briefed at an industry day in March by the service’s Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) as part of the UK Ministry of Defence’s wider technology initiative to investigate innovative solutions to future combat air systems requirements. “This potential future tender is not for a capability but a demonstrator,” an RAF officer told Jane’s, adding that a prior information notice was issued to participants before the industry day. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
11 Jul 18. NSPA tests Spanish Army’s upgraded PASI Searchers Mk III Class II UAVs. The Spanish Army, together with the Nato Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), has successfully completed testing of two PASI Searchers Mk III Class II tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Mk III Class II UAVs were upgraded and modernised by Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) MALAT division and tested in the Eim Shemer Airfield. Currently deployed into service with the Spanish Army, both autonomous aircraft have been configured to the PASI II standard configuration baseline of the entire Mk III Class II fleet. After the preservation of both engines, the unmanned systems will be disassembled and transported back to Madrid, Spain, by NSPA. The unmanned aircraft have been deployed by the army to provide it with an extensive intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability, thereby enabling the service to carry out a wide range of missions in any operational theatre. Built by IAI, the two PASI UAVs were purchased by the Spanish Army between 2007 and 2010. Carried out by NSPA within a very short time, the upgrade on the two PASI Searchers Mk III Class II UAVs is part of the Spanish Army plan to extend the lifecycle of the system until 2025. IAI’s Searcher Mk III is a multi-mission, tactical remotely piloted aerial system (RPAS) used for surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, artillery adjustment and damage assessment operations. The system features multiple operational configurations, including synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and ground moving target indicator (GMTI), signals intelligence (SIGINT) and electro-optical and infrared (EO / IR) sensors. (Source: army-technology.com)
10 Jul 18. US Air Force schedules first flight of attritable XQ-58A UAV for this fall. Key Points:
- The US Air Force plans a first flight for this fall of its XQ-58A attritable UAV
- The idea of attritable is affordable but not to the point of so cheap where it is expendable
The US Air Force (USAF) will fly this fall for the first time the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie, an ‘attritable’ unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that the service can afford to lose, but is not expendable, as they are expected to survive some missions. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) chief Major General William Cooley said on 10 July the idea of the XQ-58A is making a capable combat-type aircraft for very low cost using modern manufacturing techniques. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
09 Jul 18. Wide Range of Outcomes Possible for New Drone Export Policies. The Trump administration is making a push to facilitate exports of unmanned aerial systems, but how much of an impact it will have depends on a variety of factors, analysts said. In April, the White House announced policy changes aimed at loosening restrictions on the international sale of U.S.-made drones. They include: allowing direct commercial sales to authorized U.S. allies and partners; reducing scrutiny of systems with strike technologies; improving financing options; streamlining processes; and eliminating other bureaucratic red tape. Government reviews of potential sales would also give greater weight to their impact on the defense industrial base, and the ability of overseas buyers to obtain similar technology from other countries.
“Although the U.S. leads the way in UAS technology, overly restrictive policies enacted by the previous administration have accelerated an undesirable outcome,” Peter Navarro, assistant to the president for trade and manufacturing policy, said during a conference call with reporters when the new initiative was unveiled. “Strategic competitors like China are aggressively marketing to and making sales in international markets that are forecast to be worth more than $50bn a year within the next decade,” he noted.
The administration’s new export policies “will level the playing field,” he said. “Expanding international sales opportunities … will keep our defense industrial base in the vanguard of emerging defense technologies while creating thousands of additional jobs with good wages and generating substantial export revenues,” he added.
President Donald Trump gave federal agencies 60 days to consult with industry and trade associations and come up with an implementation plan. As of press time, the plan had not been publicly released. Analysts said the changes will likely lead to an increase in drone exports, but to what extent will hinge on several factors.
“It very much will depend on implementation,” said Andrew Hunter, director of the defense-industrial initiatives group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “If implemented aggressively I think it could represent a pretty significant shift,” although “it’s not clear that that’s going to happen,” he added.
Perhaps the most significant change is allowing unmanned aerial systems to be exported through direct commercial sales instead of foreign military sales, Hunter said. “One of the hallmarks of the Obama administration policy was in requiring that all UAS exports be foreign military sales,” he noted. “The government would maintain tight control over the contract structure, over all of the business arrangements. “By allowing for the export of UASs as commercial sales, the government still has a say because they still have to provide the export license, but there’s a significant loosening of controls because you don’t necessarily have the government directly in the contracting chain the way you would with FMS,” he added.
However, international drone sales are still limited by the Missile Technology Control Regime, a multinational framework agreement intended to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and other technologies that could potentially be used for WMD attacks, analysts noted. The MTCR restrictions currently apply to larger unmanned aerial vehicles with a range of 300 kilometers that are capable of carrying a 500-kilogram payload. They are known as Category 1 platforms. While it does not ban all international sales of such systems, the control regime does apply a “presumption of denial” principle to proposed arms sales where the MTCR regulations would come into play, noted Phil Finnegan, a UAV market expert and the director of corporate analysis at the Teal Group.
“There’s a less restrictive attitude toward exports [under Trump] but it remains to really be seen how much impact that will have,” Finnegan said. “What would really change things is if there’s some change in the Missile Technology Control Regime because that’s what controls the large systems like [General Atomics’] Predator and Reaper, and there’s a real market for those systems,” he added.
The most expensive, high-end platforms such as the Reaper and Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk are classified as Category 1, he noted. “It’s not clear how much the [announced] change in the export regulations will really help deal with that issue.” It may facilitate the export of smaller systems, but not necessary the bigger platforms with large dollar values, Finnegan added.
In his April memorandum, Trump directed federal agencies to recommend next steps for the potential adoption of revised controls for the Missile Technology Control Regime as it applies to Category 1 drones.
“We are looking together with our partners to update the MTCR,” said Tina Kaidanow, principal deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s bureau of political-military affairs. “What we are doing is ensuring that … the MTCR itself keeps pace with the changes over time that we think are salient and need to be considered.”
Defense experts have argued that applying the Missile Technology Control Regime — which was created in the 1980s before unmanned aerial vehicles were widely adopted — to large drones has placed an unnecessary obstacle in the way of international sales.
“The MTCR was not fundamentally an agreement that was designed to restrict UAV exports,” Hunter said. “It was about missiles — ballistic and cruise — and that’s not really what we’re talking about with UAVs.”
Retired Air Force Gen. Hawk Carlisle, president and CEO of the National Defense Industrial Association, has recommended adding a speed capability criterion of 800 kilometers per hour or faster to the classification of Category 1 systems so that larger drones could be exported more easily without undermining the objectives of the Missile Technology Control Regime. Finnegan expects some opposition to revisions among the 35 nations that are members of the MTCR. A previous attempt to modify it was unsuccessful, he noted.
“It’s just a complicated issue to get everyone on board,” he said. “At some point, it’s inevitable that it will be revised just because the guidelines are really out of date. It’s just a question of when and it’s also a question of to what extent.”
Analysts said the Trump administration could potentially facilitate the export of larger drones without a formal change to the control regime by altering the way it interprets the rules. Finnegan said there has already been a loosening of the interpretation of MTCR guidelines in the United States, noting that the U.S. government has already agreed to the sale of Category 1 drones to its closest allies including the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
“Everything depends on … whether there’s a continuing loosening of the interpretations of what should be allowed under MTCR regulations,” he said.
Hunter noted that other countries have interpreted the rules differently.
“When I talk to industry they say, ‘Oh gosh, the Israelis are exporting this kind of system as a Category 2, and we don’t see how that’s substantially different from our system. But the State Department has told us our system is Category 1,’” Hunter said.
However, even under liberalized export rules, lawmakers can still stymie equipment sales, analysts noted. Congress has a long history of disapproving arms deals due to concerns about human rights violations, technology proliferation and the potential use of systems in conflicts that members oppose.
“Those kinds of congressional interests will absolutely persist,” Hunter said. “Because the framework of our system is that it’s all case by case and the new policy maintains that case-by-case approach, that creates an opportunity for Congress to intervene” and stop proposed UAS sales.”
Looking at industry, Finnegan said General Atomics could potentially be the biggest winner among drone manufacturers from new export regulations, especially if there were a change to the MTCR that allowed for easier sales of systems that currently fall into Category 1. When asked to comment, a General Atomics spokesperson said the company is “still in the process of evaluating the recent export policy announcement and its impact.” Experts said other UAS manufacturers that could benefit include Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Textron and Boeing.
“We appreciate the administration’s continued focus on modernizing and streamlining the review and approval of international security cooperation programs with our partners and allies,” a Lockheed spokesperson said in an email. “Improving international defense trade also increases exports, creates American jobs and the resources to maintain our technological advantage.”
Experts said changes in export regulations could have the biggest impact on drone sales to the Middle East, at least in the near term, because that’s where the market is strongest right now. China has been “very aggressive” about selling the technology to countries in the region, Finnegan said. Beijing has already found customers among key U.S. allies.
Its drones may be lower quality than U.S. platforms, he noted. “They’re definitely cheaper but the big advantage is they’re available. … When you think of allies like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, they have always wanted to get the latest and best technology. And so the fact that they’ve been forced to resort to Chinese systems tells you a bit about their frustration and the difficulty of getting those systems” from the United States, he added.
Hunter said: “We’ve seen that in the absence of access to U.S. systems people will go and … buy from other countries. So the market does seem to be there. At the end of the day, a lot of our partners and allies would usually seem to prefer U.S. equipment. So I think it’s reasonable to think that there’s opportunity for a pretty big increase” in drone exports.” However, there are limits to how much exports can grow because other nations’ have budget constraints, Hunter noted.
Doug Berenson, a defense and aerospace market analyst and managing director at Avascent, said countries in the region don’t want to buy all of their platforms from the United States because of geopolitical and domestic industrial base considerations. Some want to curry favor with China by buying its defense equipment, or take advantage of technology transfer agreements that other nations offer. Additionally, other suppliers are selling competitive products, he noted.
“There are a lot of countries out there offering capabilities that are competitive with U.S. capabilities in some of the segments that are where [export] regulations have been liberalized” such as medium-altitude drones, he said.
When it comes to the most advanced types of systems, such as high-altitude long-endurance platforms, U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles are “head and shoulders above the rest of the world,” Berenson said. However, “there are still going to be restrictions on those” that limit their exportability, he noted.
Hunter said U.S. companies can expect even greater competition in the coming years, a trend which will make changes in export regulations all the more important. “Some of these changes I think will probably be ones that we’ll want to do just to maintain our market share in what’s likely to be an increasingly competitive UAV marketspace.” (Source: glstrade.com/National Defense)
09 Jul 18. MQ-8C Fire Scout completes initial operational test and evaluation. Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VX 1) has concluded initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) of the US Navy’s (USN’s) MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned air system (UAS) from the Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Coronado (LCS 4). Based on a modified commercial Bell 407 helicopter, the Northrop Grumman-developed MQ-8C is designed to provide the USN with a range increase of more than 30%, twice the endurance, and three times the payload of the earlier MQ-8B variant. However, the unmanned systems architecture developed and matured for the MQ-8B is being re-used for the MQ-8C. IOT&E outputs are intended to inform the navy as to how best to integrate the MQ-8C UAS with the LCS and other surface platforms. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
09 Jul 18. US Army issues proposals for second phase of NexGen UAS TD. The US Army has issued a request for a conceptual design and technology assessment proposal of the next-generation unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The proposals are for the second phase of the Next Generation Unmanned Aircraft System Technology Demonstration (NexGen UAS TD). Led by the US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Aviation & Missile Center’s Aviation Development Directorate, the NexGen UAS TD is aimed at the development of the acquisition programme to replace legacy UAS. The army’s next-generation UAS fleet is anticipated to be in operation from 2030. Through the NexGen UAS TD, the army intends to identify and demonstrate air vehicle technologies that meet certain requirements in terms of technology, performance, survivability, and reliability. Under Phase II, the Aviation Development Directorate will carry out an assessment to develop conceptual designs that meet the air vehicle requirements generated from the Phase I Concept Study results. Additionally, concepts submitted by the participants will be evaluated to determine critical enabling technologies for development and demonstration in the subsequent phase. Phase III of the NexGen UAS TD will involve a flight demonstration and/or demonstration of capability-enabling air vehicle technologies. It may also include the development and testing of prototypes for the engineering and manufacturing development phase. While initial test/demonstration activities of air vehicle technologies are slated for 2020-2023, the final test/demonstration is anticipated to take place in 2023. (Source: army-technology.com)
09 Jul 18. AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) announced that on April 10, 2018 the United States Army selected the Company and six other suppliers for small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) sustainment under a five-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The seven awardees will compete for LRRS and MRM UAS, Tactical Open Architecture Controller system and spare and repair parts procurement task orders over the duration of the contract. The maximum value of the contract is $248m over five years.
“The Army and AeroVironment remain committed to supporting the soldier closest to the fight with UAS solutions proven secure, effective and dependable around the world,” said Kirk Flittie, vice president and general manager of AeroVironment’s UAS business segment. “The IDIQ contract assures that American soldiers can continue to rely on AeroVironment’s combat-proven solutions to deliver the actionable intelligence they need to proceed with certainty.”
AeroVironment won the first competitive award for the Army’s small UAS program of record on a sole-source basis in 2005, and won the renewal of that contract with four other suppliers in 2012. AeroVironment is the designer and manufacturer of the RQ-11B Raven® and RQ-20A and B Puma™ UAS, which constitute the vast majority of the Army’s existing fleet of Small UAS. The AeroVironment Raven, the most widely deployed defense unmanned aircraft system in the world today, is a lightweight solution designed for rapid deployment and high mobility for military applications requiring low-altitude surveillance and reconnaissance intelligence. The AeroVironment Puma is a small unmanned aircraft system designed for land-based and maritime operations. Capable of landing in water or on the ground, the all-environment Puma, with its Mantis i45 sensor suite, empowers the operator with extended flight time and a level of imaging capability never before available in the small UAS class.
09 Jul 18. Russia’s Attack Drone Prototype to Start Test Flights. The prototype of Russia’s new heavy attack drone Okhotnik (Hunter) developed by the Sukhoi Aircraft Company will start test flights in 2018, a source in the domestic defense industry told TASS on Sunday.
“The work on the heavy long-range unmanned aerial vehicle is at the concluding stage. In particular, work has been completed to create a prototype that will begin test flights this year,” the source said. “The work is being carried out at the Novosibirsk-based Chkalov Aviation Plant (part of the Sukhoi Aircraft Company),” the source added.
Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation and the Defense Ministry declined to comment on this information to TASS. According to open sources, a contract on developing the heavy attack drone Okhotnik weighing 20 tonnes was signed between Russia’s Defense Ministry and the Sukhoi Aircraft Company in 2011. A mockup of the drone was created in 2014 to hold ground tests. According to unconfirmed data, the drone was developed using the ‘flying wing’ scheme, composite materials and stealth coating. The drone has a jet engine and is expected to develop a speed of up to 1,000 km/h.
Need for Okhotnik attack drone
Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Bespilotnaya Aviatsiya (Unmanned Aviation) Denis Fedutinov believes that Russia is possibly developing an unmanned aerial vehicle similar to foreign analogs, such as the X-47B developed by Northrop Grumman or the Phantom Bay made by Boeing (both variants are based on the ‘flying wing’ scheme and have a takeoff weight of 20 and 16 tonnes, respectively).
“Probably, the Okhotnik has been designed to accomplish missions similar to the assignments set for US UAVs – destroying enemy air defense systems, communications, command and control posts in situations when the use of aircraft is associated with considerable risks for crews,” the expert believes.
As the editor-in-chief noted, the first flights of US analogs took place in 2011 but both drones remained as prototypes and did not go into serial production due to immature technologies primarily related to the possibilities of operation in autonomous mode. “It cannot be ruled out that the Okhotnik will also be some demonstrator of technologies to practice solutions that will eventually be used on other promising drones,” the expert added. (Source: UAS VISION/TASS)
06 Jul 18. Belarus unveils new UAVs and UCAVs. The Belarusian armed forces paraded new types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the country’s 3 July Independence Day parade. Shown for the first time were Burevestnik-MB fixed-wing unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), which were carried by MAZ-6317-family trucks. The Burevestnik-MB UCAV features a twin-boom design and has a range of flight of up to 290 km, a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 400 kg, and an endurance of up to 10 hours. The vehicle is powered by a piston engine that produces a cruise speed of 120–150 km/h and a maximum speed of 220km/h. The UCAV flies at a height of 3,200 m, has a ceiling of 5,000m, and carries a payload of 60kg. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
27 Jun 18. Chinese firm eyes overseas market as strike drone Yaoying-2 makes maiden flight. Developed by state-owned Avic, it has both civilian and military uses. A Chinese home-grown strike drone made its maiden flight on Tuesday, according to its developer, state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China. The Yaoying-2 can carry out civilian tasks such as surveying and mapping, but also has military uses, including counterterrorism operations, Avic said on Thursday. Along with other strike drones exported by China – such as the Rainbow series and Wing Loong – the company is eyeing the international market for its unmanned aerial vehicle, which it calls the “Air Sniper”. Tuesday’s flight left from Anshun Huangguoshu Airport in southwestern Guizhou province, Avic said, without giving further details. The six-metre drone can fly at speeds of up to 230km/h at an altitude of 7,500 metres, which is in the middle to high range compared with its peers. It can stay in the air for 16 hours, with controllers up to 200km away, according to the developer. The drone is based on the Yaoying-1, which was developed by the same company in 2011 for civilian uses such as surveying and mapping. The new model can provide real-time images and monitor information for use in scenarios such as firefighting, as well as land resource surveys, according to the company. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which developed the Rainbow series, put the value of export deals for such strike drones at around US$700m, without elaborating. The state-owned company made the estimate in a document submitted for a Chinese science award early this year. Its Rainbow 4 is sold for US$4m, and such drones have been used by overseas buyers for counterterrorism and border inspection missions, according to the document. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/www.scmp.com)
07 Jul 18. AERTEC Solutions TARSIS 75 Sets New Altitude and Off-Shore Distance Records for Spain. The TARSIS 75 unmanned, fixed-wing aerial platform from AERTEC Solutions, the international engineering and consulting firm specialising in aerospace and defence systems, is continuing its testing campaign at the National Institute for Aerospace Technology’s (INTA) El Arenosillo Testing Centre (CEDEA) in Huelva. The operations of this past week marked a new milestone thanks to the 100-km distance reached by the TARSIS 75, the light, high-tech tactical aeroplane designed by the Spanish company for observation and surveillance applications. This record, operating from the coast, involved climbing to an altitude of 3,000 metres after taking off from sea level. It was not possible to exceed the 100-km distance as this was practically at the limit of the segregated airspace, though one of its features is a radio communication range exceeding 150 kilometres. During its testing campaign at INTA, a few weeks ago the TARSIS 75 also successfully executed a complete, automatic take off and landing (ATOL) operation at the beach of Mazagón (Huelva), thus expanding its capabilities on unconventional runways. The TARSIS 75 and TARSIS 25 unmanned aerial platforms are one of AERTEC’s most innovative projects. The company develops the entire life cycle for these RPAS, from design and creation to assembly. (Source: UAS VISION)
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