The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has completed the first deployment of the AeroVironment RQ-20A Puma AE unmanned air vehicle to the Antarctic, where it supported a US Coast Guard resupply mission. It operated onboard the US Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star in support of the annual operation Deep Freeze deployment, taking on the role of manned helicopters in providing...
Chief executive of British Airways’ owner says drones may become serious risk to air passengers. The boss of British Airways’ owner IAG has called for a register of drone users after a series of near collisions between passenger planes and unmanned aircraft. Willie Walsh, IAG’s chief executive, said that “without question” new restrictions should be brought in b...
Britain will double its fleet of armed surveillance drones with a new upgraded generation of unmanned aircraft able to fly for nearly twice as long, laden with more bombs, missiles and sensors, the MoD has disclosed. The 79ft wingspan, remotely piloted planes will be able to circle over and spy on targets for nearly two days, while sophisticated new flight computers mean they will be able to fl...
A recent study makes it seem clear that drones and airplanes are on a collision course—unless SkySafe has anything to say about it. The new startup company has technology that can stop a drone in its flight path and divert it before it collides with a commercial plane, The Verge reported. SkySafe, which bills itself as in the drone protection business, doesn't just alert pilots to nea...
Drones today are inadequate. While the basics of simple unmanned flying machines are simple enough, if drones are going to revolutionize how people do anything, they’ll need to do much more, within the basic confines of their design. So Local Motors, a Phoenix-based open-source manufacturing company, is partnering with Airbus Group to design a cargo drone for the future. They’re hol...
Transport Secretary says ban on drones is "part of the overarching security plan". Drones have been banned in parts of London while Barack Obama visits the UK this week. An advisory published by the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) and regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has put restrictions on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other aircraft from Thursday evening on Ap...
It now seems inevitable that a tragic accident involving a commercial plane with hundreds aboard and a drone is only a matter of time. The numbers are troubling with the British Airways encounter Sunday just the tip of the iceberg. Officials: Drone apparently slams into plane Last year, in the United Kingdom alone there was a quadrupling of near misses to 23 in the six month period from A...
The FAA wants people to stop shooting drones. At least 12 drones have been shot out of the sky in five U.S. states and the Federal Aviation Authority says it’s a federal crime, according to a report in Forbes. Even if they’re over your house. Even if they’re carrying running chainsaws. The FAA says you can’t shoot them down and you can’t disturb or interfere with s...
Italy’s ANSV air accident investigation board has opened an inquiry after an accident involving an SD-150 Hero unmanned air vehicle at Siena’s Ampugnano airport. Manufactured and operated by Sistemi Dinamici and bearing the registration I-UASC, the Hero was damaged in the 12 April incident while performing a test flight, says ANSV. However, it does not provide additional details...
Washington has vetoed any further sales of Israeli-made unmanned air vehicles to Russia. For several months Russian companies have contacted Israeli manufacturers in an attempt to reach joint venture agreements. However after checking with the Israeli defence ministry about the potential of formalising any such pact, it became obvious the US administration would be very strongly opposed, and wo...
You’re landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on the “expressway” approach—it’s called that because you come in low enough to buzz the Grand Central Parkway and Mets’ Citi Field before dropping down quickly on a runway that perches over the middle of a bay. As it is, it’s one of the more jarring landings in the U.S. What, then, would happen if a...
A tiny plane made by a California-based startup is set to begin making deliveries of blood throughout Rwanda, where roads ‘are washed out 95 percent of the time in the rainy season.’ Inside this tiny plane in wet, windy California sits a bunch of blood. It looks like one of those RC doohickeys, and it can only handle 3 1/2 pounds of the stuff, but it’s an RC doohickey that&...
