Unmanned Systems

Bionic Opter Mimics Dragonfly

Bionic Opter Mimics Dragonfly

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This video is of the Festo Corporation’s BionicOpter,  which has “technically mastered the highly complex flight characteristics of the dragonfly” according to the company. The ultralight ornithopter “can fly in …

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X-37B nose

X-37B’s First Two Missions Earn Success and Speculation

On Saturday, June 16, 2012, at 5:48 AM Pacific Daylight Time (12:48 Zulu), the X-37B program’s unmanned Orbital Test Vehicle Two (OTV-2) set down onto the three-mile runway at Vandenberg …

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"Fire-X-Scout"

Fire Scout Takes Off in New Direction The 'next generation Fire Scout' will match MQ-8B systems with a whole new airframe

Just two weeks after the Navy announced the temporary suspension of flight operations for its MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopters, the service has tapped Northrop Grumman to upgrade the systems …

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X-47B Tailless Unmanned Aircraft

Unmanned Systems’ Future Lies in Autonomy Smart autonomous systems will leverage brains over brawn

In the face of the most draconian U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) budget cuts in at least a generation, affordability has become a new watchword, perhaps the new watchword. While …

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Charles Kaman Flying the K-125

Less Than a Year After His Death, Charlie Kaman’s Helicopters Achieve Another First

On Dec. 17, 2011, the Marine Corps 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing used a Kaman K-MAX unmanned helicopter to make the first unmanned helicopter cargo delivery on a battlefield. The K-MAX …

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K-MAX USMC VUAV cargo

Looks Like Everybody Wants Unmanned Cargo Capabilities

A multi-service general officer panel appearing at one industry conference in late 2011 was faced with an audience question of when the coming fiscal environment might force the services to …

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UCAS gear up

UAV Roundup

An armed, pilotless aircraft designed to defend the United States may seem a 21st century description of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, the concept was actually introduced in a 1915 …

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A U-2 over Iwakuni, Japan, landing

Global Hawks Planned to Replace U-2 in 2015

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If all goes as planned, the Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) will replace the legendary U-2 “Dragon Lady” as the nation’s premier strategic reconnaissance platform. It was supposed to …

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Block 40 Global Hawk on its second flight.

Global Hawk Operations in the Spotlight at AUVSI North America 2011

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This week’s Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) North America 2011 (August 16 – 19, Washington D.C. Convention Center) is providing multiple venues for both government and industry to …

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A Predator lands at Balad Air Base, Iraq, in 2007

Book Review – Predator: The Remote-Control Air War Over Iraq and Afghanistan: A Pilot’s Story by Matt J. Martin and Charles W. Sasser

At the start of Predator: The Remote-Control Air War over Iraq and Afghanistan: A Pilot’s Story, Air Force Lt. Col. Matt J. Martin writes of flying at ten thousand feet …

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