Military UAVs – Page 41
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News5GAT first flight scheduled for October
The US Department of Defense’s Office of Operational Test and Evaluation plans to test fly its Fifth-Generation Aerial Target prototype for the first time in October at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.
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NewsThales launches compact AESA radar
Thales has unveiled the AirMaster C, a new version of its active electronically scanned array (AESA) airborne surveillance radar that combines a smaller footprint with several advances in technology.
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NewsAeroVironment and Viasat to aim to improve radio encryption for Puma AE
Up against increasingly sophisticated electronic warfare threats from countries such as Russia and China, drone maker AeroVironment and satellite communications company Viasat are partnering to develop better encrypted radio communications for the Puma AE reconnaissance unmanned air vehicle.
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InterviewHow ‘War on Terror’ UAV maker General Atomics is pivoting to great power conflict
The San Diego-based company has reacted with a flurry of new initiatives in the past couple of years intended to hold onto existing business, seize new opportunities in the near future and ultimately maintain its position as the USA’s leading maker of armed reconnaissance UAVs going into the 2030s.
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NewsGE closes on first flight of Catalyst turboprop engine
GE Aviation is nearing a maiden sortie of its Catalyst turboprop engine, delays to which have had a knock-on impact on Cessna’s in-development Denali.
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NewsUS Army catches ‘air-launched effect’ drones in mid-air using another UAV
The US Army for the first time caught and recovered Area-I Altius “air-launched effects” drones in midair using a quadcopter during Project Convergence exercises in August and September.
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NewsQueensland to be production base for Boeing’s loyal wingman
Boeing has confirmed that the state of Queensland, Australia, will be the production centre for its developmental Airpower Teaming System (ATS) unmanned loyal wingman aircraft. Boeing notes that the ATS is the first Boeing military aircraft to be designed outside the USA. It is also the first military aircraft to ...
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NewsUS Army and USAF to jointly develop battlefield network, called CJADC2
The US Army and the US Air Force signed an agreement to jointly develop a battlefield communications network, called Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control.
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NewsLoyal wingmen UAVs might be better for non-lethal missions: report
Attritable loyal wingman unmanned air vehicles might be best used as non-lethal “force multipliers” for the US Air Force’s fleet of manned aircraft says a report by think tank Mitchell Institute.
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NewsAeroVironment unveils anti-armour Switchblade 600 loitering munition
After months of public teases, AeroVironment has unveiled its Switchblade 600, a loitering munition with a larger, anti-armour warhead. AeroVironment had previously said such a weapon was under development, but details about its capabilities were lacking. Switchblade 600 is the first in a series of new loitering munitions the unmanned ...
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NewsUSAF doubles MQ-9A’s Hellfire missile payload
The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9A Reaper unmanned air vehicle (UAV) has made a sortie with double the number of Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, greatly improving its combat persistence. The flight with eight Hellfires took place on 10 September, according to the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) 556th Test ...
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NewsUSAF adds nine companies to Skyborg artificial intelligence development programme
The awards are part of a second phase of the “Skyborg Prototyping, Experimentation and Autonomy Development” programme.
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NewsNorthrop reiterates call for accelerated Australian MQ-4C Triton buy
Northrop Grumman has reiterated its call for Canberra to move its acquisition of the MQ-4C Triton unmanned air vehicle (UAV) forward to help fill a potential two-year production gap. The company notes that the platform has proven effective since the US Navy (USN) deployed a pair of the high-altitude, long-endurance ...
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In depthMQ-Next should include both expendable and high-end UAVs: Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is proposing a range of unmanned air vehicle options for the US Air Force’s MQ-Next development programme, including a type that the company calls “expendable”.
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NewsRoyal Air Force’s Protector makes first flight
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems completed first flight of the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Protector RG1 unmanned air vehicle (UAV) on 25 September.
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NewsTurbulence again blamed for loss of second Zephyr UAV in Australia
Turbulence triggered the uncontrolled spiral descent and subsequent in-flight break-up of an Airbus Defence & Space Zephyr unmanned air vehicle (UAV) in 2019, Australian investigators have determined.
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NewsGeneral Atomics Sparrowhawk seen for first time in captive carry tests on MQ-9 Reaper
Sparrowhawk is designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as electronic warfare, work. It is to be air launched and air recovered by the larger MQ-9 Reaper UAV.
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NewsGlobal Hawk receives camera, electronic support upgrades
Northrop Grumman has delivered two payload upgrades for the RQ-4 Global Hawk long-endurance UAV. The first is the deployment of the MS-177 multi-spectral camera, which provides improved high resolution imaging for users, says the company. Source: Northrop Grumman Global Hawk equipped with an MS-177 multi-spectral camera system, which ...
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NewsUS Army researches running the MQ-1C Gray Eagle on ‘any type of fuel’
The US Army Research Laboratory awarded the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign an $8 million, four-year contract to help develop new diesel-engine ignition technologies intended to allow unmanned air vehicles, including General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagles, to run on “any type of fuel”.
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NewsUSAF launches MQ-9 ARES contract following similar commoditised F-16 deal
The US Air Force (USAF) has granted General Atomics Aeronautical Systems an Agile Reaper Enterprise Solution (ARES) a contract, which pre-prices the MQ-9A Reaper unmanned air vehicle (UAV).



















