Commercial Drone Operations for Enterprise Professionals
The Air and Marine Operations MQ-9 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)
As the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) industry rapidly expands and pushes the boundaries of new technology, it has become crucial that we foster a collaborative and innovative ecosystem for our industry’s future success.
The ability to provide seamless communication across crew members and support personnel is at the heart of both manned and unmanned flight operations.
Increased availability of drone hardware at many price points makes the collection of geotagged images from a UAS one of the more accessible methods of field data collection for creating a digital twin.
Draganfly Inc. and Nightingale Security have been selected by a major oil and gas company to develop a fully automated UAS solution for infrastructure monitoring. This project marks a significant step in leveraging advanced UAS remote sensing technology to enhance operational efficiency and safety in the oil and gas sector.
Honeywell announced it is launching a new Stationary And Mobile UAS Reveal And Intercept system to counter swarm drones. By combining beyond-visual-line-of-sight communication with command-and-control capabilities, the multi-layered system is able to detect, track and then counter drone swarms.
uAvionix announced its significant role in advancing the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Surface Awareness Initiative. After successfully delivering its FlightLine capability to the first two airports this past summer in under 90 days, uAvionix and its partner Capital Sciences have been awarded contracts to equip six more major U.S. airports with the innovative FlightLine surface situational awareness system.
The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) announced that it has granted Green UAS certification to Hoverfly Technologies’ Spectre Uncrewed Aircraft System. The platform is the first tethered drone to be verified as meeting the highest levels of cybersecurity and the supply chain requirements in the National Defense Authorization Act on either AUVSI’s Green UAS list or the Defense Innovation Unit’s Blue UAS list.
As a part of the 24.2 Technical Concept Experiment, Parallel Flight Technologies (PFT) showcased its heavy-lift expeditionary platform, Firefly, for maritime surveillance. The demonstration highlighted the integration of PFT’s Firefly drone with Areté’s Pushbroom Imaging LiDAR for Littoral Surveillance (PILLS) system, aimed at enhancing the U.S. Navy’s capabilities in maritime operations.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded BAE Systems’ FAST Labs™ research and development organization a $4 million contract for Phase 1 of the Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements (AIR) program.
The U.S. Army recently achieved two major milestones in the development of the Future Tactical Uncrewed Aircraft System Program, when the two competitors completed Modular Open System Approach (MOSA) conformance evaluations and flight demonstrations of their prototype aircraft.
Matternet announced that it has been granted a Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC) by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA). This marks the first LUC issued by the Swiss FOCA for higher-risk "SAIL III" operations, including beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights over populated areas.
Raven Advisory's Technology Division announced a partnership with Alaska Center for UAS Integration, the lead for the FAA's University of Alaska UAS Test Site, to develop a Digital Operational Mobility Environment "DOME" in Maxton, NC. This project will create jobs, attract manufacturing, and provide capabilities for operating advanced transportation technologies, including drones.
The Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS), a North Dakota state agency, announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has signed a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) for the use of Vantis as a safety mitigation for beyond-visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone operations.
The North Dakota Unmanned Autonomous Systems (NDUAS) Council announced that Frontier Precision, a leading provider of geospatial and drone technology solutions, has joined its prestigious membership.
Gotonomi, a leading provider of UAV satellite connectivity solutions, has announced the completion of further successful flight trials and the opening of orders for production units of all variants of its UAV satcom terminals at Commercial UAV Expo 2024 in Las Vegas.
The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules to enable initial drone operations in the 5 GHz spectrum band for wireless communications necessary to safely control the flights of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS).
On Sept. 17-18, 2024, the Vertical Flight Society will host its 8th Workshop on Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Infrastructure at the US Navy Memorial Visitor Center in downtown Washington, DC. The workshop is focused on understanding and developing infrastructure to support electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and is being held in support of the efforts by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and industry to develop eVTOL vertiports.
SkyDrive Inc., a leading Japanese eVTOL aircraft manufacturer based in Japan, announced that it has signed an agreement with Osaka Metro Co., Ltd. to study the feasibility of using eVTOL in the Osaka area after the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. In addition, Osaka Metro invested in SkyDrive.
The U.S. Army awarded Camgian Corporation a contract worth more than $23 million to provide counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) capabilities to the warfighter. Camgian is partnering with the U.S. Army on advanced AI-powered C-UAS capabilities to enhance force protection against UAS swarms through coordinated, independent, and dispersed C-UAS platforms.
Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing company, recently completed a successful seven-hour flight test of its fuel-cell-powered small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS), SKIRON-XLE. The test flight, conducted at an airfield in Virginia, represents a significant advancement in flight endurance for the Group 2 platform.
ParaZero Technologies announced the successful completion of an advanced safety system project for a pioneering U.S. based Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company in the aerial vehicle industry. This project focused on integrating an innovative safety solution into the customer’s manned aircraft, which is designed for personal, private, military, and logistical applications.
Altitude Angel has announced Cambridge City Airport is the latest airport to deploy its Approval Services platform which allows drone operators the ability to request and pay for operations within the airport airspace digitally and at the touch of a button.
A research partnership between Altru Health System and iSight Drone Services could have the latter company’s drone tech making deliveries across the hospital provider’s clinics – if they can find the cash to get airborne.
The Mountain West Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) group has received a FAA-Recognized Identification Area (FRIA) designation for the Drone Training Park located just off Rodeo Drive in Buena Vista. This designation is expected to improve the training capabilities of the training park.
The partnership will integrate BRINC’s cutting-edge Drone as First Responder solution with Echodyne’s ground-based radars to enable a path toward Beyond Visual Line of Site (BVLOS) operations without Visual Observers.
Altitude Angel has announced Wales Air Ambulance is the latest organization to deploy its Approval Services platform allowing drone operators the ability to request and pay for operations which involve taking-off and landing from a landowner’s property.
Grand Forks-based iSight Drone Services is the first commercial drone operator to regularly conduct flights outside pilots’ line of sight, a significant milestone for unmanned flight in the U.S. Using Vantis, the statewide system of sensors and radar supporting unmanned, the company will be able to fly beyond pilots' sight without needing to seek the FAA’s approval each time.
The North Dakota UAS Council is announced that Bismarck State College (BSC) has joined the Council as its newest member. This strategic partnership marks a significant step forward in advancing UAS education, research, and industry collaboration in North Dakota.
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