Unmanned Vehicles

The FAA announced on Monday that drone pilots with current Part 107 remote pilot certificates can now receive authorization to fly at night via the low altitude authorization and notification capability (LAANC) network. LAANC, an automated system designed to provide near real-time authorizations for drone pilots looking to operate below 400 feet in controlled airspace, […]

A Denver pilot says he’s successfully tested an app that can detect drones that might conflict with aircraft. Drone Traffic CEO Rick Zelenka said the test was conducted at Platte Valley Airport in Hudson, Colorado, and was the result of a NASA-funded contract to develop a drone detection system for aircraft. “It spots a drone and […]

Google’s drone delivery service in Canberra, Australia, has been temporarily shut down after several of its aircraft were attacked by ravens. It’s early spring Down Under and the nesting birds are attacking the drones, which have been carrying everything from coffee to prescription drugs to customers in the nation’s capital since 2019. Google announced the […]

Boeing has announced plans to build a new facility in Illinois to manufacture MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aerial refuelers for the U.S. Navy. The 300,000-square-foot factory, which is scheduled for completion in 2024, will be located at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV). According to Boeing, the facility will feature “state-of-the-art manufacturing processes and tools, including robotic […]

The Drive has posted ATC audio of a bizarre police chase in the skies over Tucson last February that, beyond the security and safety concerns, had all involved wondering just what they were witnessing. As we reported last May, the FBI was called in to investigate the mysterious encounter, which included an aerial tour of […]

All the Canadian authorities are looking into the midair collision of a flight school Cessna 172 and fair-sized drone that could have ended a lot worse than it did. The fact that it happened within a mile of an airport and that the drone operator was a local police department has added some extra attention […]

The U.S. Navy and Boeing successfully refueled a Navy E-2D Hawkeye command and control aircraft using an MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aircraft system (UAS/drone) on Wednesday. The mission was the second carrier-based aircraft unmanned refueling mission to be completed using the Boeing-owned MQ-25TM T1 test asset following the successful refueling of a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet […]

Pipistrel has chosen Honeywell’s compact satellite communications (SATCOM) system for its fixed-wing Surveyor and unmanned Nuuva V300 and V20 platforms. According to Honeywell, its UAV SATCOM system is designed to provide unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV/drone) operators with global coverage and real-time video streaming to the ground along with enabling beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) […]

uAvionix announced on Wednesday that it has received a TSO from the FAA for its truFYX GPS receiver for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drones). The unit weighs 20 grams, which includes its receiver, antenna, DO-160G power supply and interface protection circuits. The truFYX is capable of acting as the primary position source for domestic en-route and […]

A team led by Boeing has completed a new demonstration of manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capabilities. Conducted in a “virtual environment,” the demonstration used Northrop Grumman’s portable E-2D Advanced Hawkeye simulator along with Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and MQ-25 Stingray uncrewed aerial refueling drone simulations. According to Boeing, the mission scenarios demonstrated included the “E-2D successfully […]