Recent Updates

A Boeing B747-400 that has been converted to an aerial firefighting tanker is ready to enter service, Global SuperTanker Services has announced. The airplane, christened Spirit of John Muir, will be based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. From there, it can be deployed at speeds up to 600 mph to reach wildfires almost anywhere in the […]

I wasn’t precisely counting, but at this year’s AUVSI event, there seemed to be more companies hawking a particular kind of software meant to integrate, analyze and order the oceans of data and imagery that all these flying eyes in the sky are pumping into various networks. And everything is tied into what’s commonly called […]

At the AUVSI show in New Orleans, a new company called SkyeIntelligence was showing a trick drone with self-following capability. You simply launch it, and it follows your every move. AVweb shot this short news video on the product. view on YouTube

Although there haven’t been many accidents involving unmanned aircraft systems, there have been enough for the NTSB to begin building the investigatory resources to determine causes, just as they have for years with manned aircraft. In this exclusive AVweb podcast recorded at the AUVSI trade show in New Orleans, the NTSB’s Bill English explains what’s […]

As the U.S. military deals with the uncertain complexities of a future dependent on and driven by robotic technologies, the soldier of the future will have unprecedented precision capabilities, but also higher expectations than soldiers of the last generation. That’s one of several observations offered by General David Perkins at Xponential 2016, the AUVSI trade […]

As Amazon bolts at breakneck speed toward package delivery by autonomous drone, it sees future air traffic control and de-confliction as a series of overlapping but collaborating apps in which aircraft and controllers share separation tasks. Amazon’s Gur Kimchi, who’s overseeing the company’s PrimeAir drone development efforts, outlined a view of the future in which […]

The FAA will hold a public hearing on its proposed Part 23 revisions today and tomorrow in College Park, Georgia. On the eve of the event, a coalition of general aviation groups sent a letter (PDF) to the FAA urging them to work swiftly and implement the revised rule by the end of this year. […]

As an early proponent of drones for television news stories, journalist Miles O’Brien says this technology has fundamentally shifted the way stories can be told. O’Brien is a well-known independent science and technology reporter with stories appearing frequently on PBS. AVweb spoke to O’Brien Tuesday at Xponential 2016, the trade and technology show of the […]

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, in Washington, D.C., will stay open all night on Friday, July 1, to celebrate the building’s 40th year. The free event also will celebrate the opening of the newly redesigned Milestones of Flight Hall, where historic aircraft are on display, including the Spirit of St. Louis, the Bell […]

A French Jet Ski racer has claimed a new record for hoverboard endurance with a flight that covered 1.4 miles. Guinness World Records confirmed that Franky Zapata performed the flight in front of its evaluators in Sausset-les-Pins in the South of France. He officially went 2,252 meters to shatter the existing record of 275.9 meters […]