Sponsored by The British Robotics Seed Fund
http: www.britbots.com/fund
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14 Sep 18. Taiwan Drone Fleet to Patrol Coastline. Taiwan’s defense budget draft for 2019 discloses the island nation’s plans to deploy combat-ready drones to protect its coastline. Tabled to the island’s Legislative Yuan last week, the budget details the prioritization of tactical reconnaissance and armed drones to deter enemy forces on beachheads and coastal areas. The fleet of future drones will mostly be domestically-produced. They will include Tengyun long-range craft developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, as well as anti-radiation missile (ARM) drones being developed as part of Project Jiansiang, according to the ministry. The Tengyun drones have four weapon mounts compatible with the US-made AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles. Such weapons are primarily used for precision strikes at targets within a range of 0.5 to eight kilometers. The new ARM drones can destroy an adversary’s radar systems, or the platforms on which they are installed. It is believed that the Tengyun drones will be modeled after the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, remotely piloted aircraft once favored by the US Air Force and the CIA. The Predator was initially conceived in the early 1990s for aerial reconnaissance and forward observation roles, and the long-endurance drone series was subsequently modified and upgraded to carry and fire Hellfire missiles and other munitions designed for offensive operations. Taiwan’s defense ministry said the indigenous drones would be part of the army’s goal to ensure the annihilation of enemy deployments on Taiwan’s beaches. Precision-strike weaponry including drones fitted with air-to-surface missiles are key to defending beachheads and winning littoral, or coastal, battles and anti-landing operations. (Source: UAS VISION/ASD News)
12 Sep 18. Zambian Hermes 450 UAV spotted. The Zambian Air Force (ZAF) is operating at least one Elbit Systems Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a photograph released on an internet forum has confirmed. The photograph showed the Hermes 450 inside a hangar and clearly marked with both the Zambian flag and the ZAF roundel. The UAV had a satellite communications antenna that enables it to be controlled beyond the line of sight. Elbit Systems declined to comment when asked about the Zambian UAV. There was speculation that Zambia was operating Chinese CH-3 UAVs after a photograph emerged in 2017 showing one being inspected by African air force officers inside a hangar that was reportedly at the ZAF’s Mbala Air Base. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
11 Sep 18. US Army issues specifications for small VTOL UAV. The US Army has released required performance specifications for a small vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that it wishes to procure under the Short-Range Reconnaissance (SRR) programme. The specifications, released to industry on 10 September, are based on evolving requirements for a manportable short-range VTOL platform that the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx), which is overseeing the programme, describes as being “cheap, easy to access, [and] highly capable”. Required performance specifications state that the intended DIUx/SRR platform has a 30-minute flight endurance; a 3km operational range; an 8,000 ft service ceiling; the ability to operate in 15kt winds or greater; manual and semi-autonomous/waypoint flight modes; link-loss procedures; and the ability to conduct a programmable mission. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
11 Sep 18. USAF RQ-4 Global Hawk Crashed Off Spain Last June. An RQ-4 Global Hawk crashed into the waters off Spain on June 26th, 2018. The incident has not been previously disclosed to the public prior to inquiries by The Drive. It marks the second loss of an RQ-4 in just over a year, with the other aircraft crashing into highly remote California wilderness near Mount Whitney on June 21st, 2017. The Drive received the following information from U.S. European Command: An RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft crashed off of the coast of Rota, Spain, at approximately 11a.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 26, 2018. No personnel were involved in the incident. The Supply-class fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (T-AOE-8), assisted in the recovery of the downed RQ-4 Global Hawk in the vicinity of the Gulf of Cadiz. Prior to providing assistance, Arctic was conducting routine operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations. In addition to the USNS Arctic, a 100th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 operating out of Zaragoza Air Base, Spain, launched on June 26 to aid in the recovery efforts. (Source: UAS VISION/The Drive)
10 Sep 18. Bell Team Selected for NASA UAS Demo in 2020. Bell’s Autonomous Pod Transport 70 utilizes a tail-sitting electric vertical take-off and landing configuration that is capable of rotation and translation in flight. Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, has announced a cooperative agreement with NASA for an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) flight demonstration in the National Airspace System (NAS) expected to be conducted in 2020. The cooperative agreement outlines the goal of progressing toward routine commercial UAS operations in the NAS. Bell and our collaborative teammates Textron Systems, Xwing, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA), plan to demonstrate end-to-end commercial mission operations with Bell’s Autonomous Pod Transport 70 (APT70), which will include integrated Command and Control (C2) and Detect and Avoid (DAA) technologies. Collectively, we will explore requirements as they relate to commercial transport missions for medical, law enforcement/parapublic and offshore missions.
“Bell is proud to continue the collaboration of new VTOL UAS technologies to drive a path toward UAS certification and commercialization,” said Scott Drennan, Bell’s vice president of Innovation. “We believe the capabilities of our Autonomous Pod Transport, with the support from our team, will enable us to tackle key challenges facing commercial UAS operations today, leading to a successful demonstration.”
Bell will lead the design, development, production and systems integration of APT, while Textron Systems will supply command and control operations, Xwing will provide Detect and Avoid technologies, and CASA will provide weather avoidance technology.
Textron Systems Vice President of Applied Technology & Advanced Programs Wayne Prender stated:
“C2 technologies can extend the capabilities of unmanned systems across platforms, domains and users. Having extensive experience in the unmanned industry for several decades, we look forward to bringing this perspective to such a highly capable team.”
Xwing’s Founder and CEO Marc Piette added:
“Some of the key technologies involved here represent a significant step to the safe and widespread commercialization of autonomous VTOL cargo and passenger carrying aircraft. Xwing is excited to work with Bell, with the support of NASA and the FAA, to accelerate the path to certification of these systems.”
Apoorva Bajaj, CASA’s Innovation Manager commented:
“CASA is excited to collaborate with Bell on the integration of low-altitude weather information into UAS operations. Precise information on location, timing and severity of thunderstorm activity, wind and rain will help maximize the time UAS operations can be safely conducted.”
Bell’s APT70 utilizes a tail-sitting electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) configuration that is capable of rotation and translation in flight to maximize its performance. APT70 is part of the eVTOL family of vehicles Bell is developing and can reach speeds of more than 100mph and has a baseline payload capability of 70 lbs.
The Project falls under the Integrated Aviation Systems Program office managed at NASA Headquarters in Washington by the agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California manages both the project and this solicitation and selection for the SIO demonstration. (Source: UAS VISION)
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The British Robotics Seed Fund is the first SEIS-qualifying investment fund specialising in UK-based robotics businesses. The focus of the fund is to deliver superior returns to investors by making targeted investments in a mixed basket of the most innovative and disruptive businesses that are exploiting the new generation of robotics technologies in defence and other sector applications.
Automation and robotisation are beginning to drive significant productivity improvements in the global economy heralding a new industrial revolution. The fund allows investors to benefit from this exciting opportunity, whilst also delivering the extremely attractive tax reliefs offered by the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). For many private investors, the amount of specialist knowledge required to assess investments in robotics is not practical and hence investing through a fund structure makes good sense.
The fund appoints expert mentors to work with each investee company to further maximise the chance of success for investors. Further details are available on request.
www.britbots.com/fund
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