ATM ModernizationLive in London: Demonstration Integrates Unmanned Traffic into Active Airspace The integration of unmanned traffic into London's airspace was tested last month in a large-scale endeavor dubbed Operation Zenith. A collaboration including air navigation service provider NATS, Manchester Airport, Altitude Angel, Frequentis,…
ATM ModernizationNew Boeing Joint Venture Aimed at Airspace Management for Drones, Air Taxis Boeing intends to launch an urban airspace management joint venture along with artificial intelligence company SparkCognition, the two companies announced Nov. 20. Called SkyGrid, the new company will follow in the footsteps…
CommercialAurora's Solar-Powered UAS Can 'Fly Indefinitely' Boeing-owned Aurora Flight Sciences’ new Odysseus unmanned aircraft system (UAS) “can effectively fly indefinitely,” according to the company, capable of months-long flights as it gathers data for climate research. The Odysseus is…
CommercialWith This Patch, You Can Control a Drone with a Flick of Your Wrist Controlling drones is an arms race of user-friendly input devices. In the interest of meeting operators where they are comfortable, companies have gone from bulky proprietary ground stations to commercial laptops to…
CommercialThe Unmanned Future at Rockwell Collins' Advanced Technology Center Brian Wolford would sit awake as a child and listen to the planes fly into and out of the nearby Pewaukee Municipal Airport — since renamed Chicago Executive Airport. The noise might have…
CommercialGE-Owned Avitas Granted First Large Commercial BVLOS Waiver Avitas Systems, a GE venture, received the first FAA approval to fly a 55-plus-pound UAS beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) with no spotter for commercial purposes. Operating on Shell oil facilities…
MilitaryControl Six MQ-9 Reapers From Your Laptop With GA-ASI's Heresy Software General Atomics wants it to be so easy to manage drones that, using the company's Heresy multi-mission control (MMC) software, one operator can oversee a half-dozen large UAS, assigning tasks and monitoring…
UnmannedCyPhy's Tethered Drones Provide Limitless Uptime The U.S. Army and Navy Special Ops use drones from CyPhy Works to get around one of the big hindrances with most unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), a lack of persistence engendered by…
MilitaryUS Defense Department Wary of Drones in Evolving US Airspace The U.S. Defense Department does not think of small drones as toys — it thinks of them as threats, according to Col. Dan Furleigh, the U.S. Air Force’s division chief for military…
CommercialBuzzer-Beating Bill: FAA Set to Get Funding Before Shut-Down with Congress Reauthorization Vote The U.S. Senate today voted 90-7 to end debate on the FAA reauthorization bill which would keep it funded for the next five years and prevent an agency shutdown next week. The…