AeroVironment to add larger group 2 and 3 UAVs with $405m acquisition of Arcturus
So far, AeroVironment’s products were almost entirely group 1 UAVs, weighing 9.07kg or less.
CASIC claims maiden flight of long-range WJ-700 UAV
The China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) appears to have conducted the maiden sortie of the WJ-700 unmanned air vehicle (UAV).
General Atomics’ Avenger to be used as Skyborg testbed
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems received a contract from the US Air Force (USAF) to modify two of its company-owned Avenger unmanned air vehicles (UAV) with Skyborg autonomy technology.
China uses Wing Loong II variant for weather modification work
China has deployed a variant of the AVIC Wing Loong II unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to help create precipitation in the country’s arid west.
Teledyne to buy FLIR Systems for $8bn to grow sensor business
Teledyne has signed an agreement to acquire FLIR Systems for about $8 billion worth of cash and stock.
Northrop operates RQ-4 with modernised control station
Northrop Grumman has completed the first flight of an RQ-4 Global Hawk using a modernised ground control station for the unmanned air vehicle (UAV).
Boeing Australia pushes ‘loyal wingman’ maiden flight to 2021
The Boeing Australia Airpower Teaming System loyal wingman aircraft is moving closer to its maiden flight after completing its first high-speed taxi test.
US Air Force deploys first automated quadcopter for base security
The US Air Force has deployed its first automated unmanned air vehicle security system for an airbase.
Boeing flies MQ-25 with aerial refuelling pod for first time
Boeing has flown its MQ-25A test asset (T1) with an aerial refuelling store under its wing for the first time.
Excess movement prevents C-130 from retrieving Gremlins in mid-air test
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) came within inches of snatching several X-61A Gremlins unmanned air vehicles out of the sky using an arm extended from the cargo bay of a Lockheed Martin C-130. However, the aerial captures were aborted because of too much movement between the docking mechanism and the drones.