CommercialAeroVironment to Develop MALE UAS for DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has issued a $2.3 million contract to AeroVironment to develop a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that can operate from small ships providing…
CommercialMQ-8C Completes First Flight Northrop Grumman's MQ-8C unmanned helicopter completed its first flight at the Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif., last week. The flight, operated by a ground-based team from the U.S. Navy and…
Business & GAPerspectives: FCC Interference Approach Since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its “National Broadband Plan” in 2010, the agency has been aggressively trying to make more spectrum available for broadband. Besides exploring various allocation and auction…
ATM ModernizationPeople Bill Darbe Satcom Direct, of Satellite Beach, Fla., named Bill Darbe its director of dealer programs. Darbe will be responsible for implementing aftermarket dealer programs to support the introduction of Satcom Direct’s…
CommercialNew Unmanned Aircraft Research Center Opening in Texas Texas A&M University has approved the establishment of a new facility for research and testing of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The Lone Star Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center (LSUASC), a joint collaboration of…
CommercialThales, AirBerlin Sign Avionics Agreement The AirBerlin group has seined a seven-year "Avionics-by-the-hour" (ABTH) agreement with Thales in support of maintenance and spares provisioning for its fleet of A320 family aircraft. The German carrier has a total…
Business & GAEditor's Note: Shutdown As I write this column in mid-October from my Maryland office, just a stones-throw from our nation’s Capitol, the government is shutdown. Closed. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers around the country…
ATM ModernizationIndustry Scan FAA Considers Relaxing PED Rules FAA’s rules regulating the use of personal electronic devices (PED) on commercial aircraft are expected to change by 2014, as a federal advisory panel is expected to…