Up and Soaring - UAS

Deutsche Post DHL tests Paketcopter

Possibly inspired by online retailer Amazon’s experiments with drone parcel delivery, Germany’s express delivery and mail company, Deutsche Post DHL, has tested a small UAS – dubbed Paketcopter – to deliver parcels up to 6.6 lb (3kg).

A microdrones md4-1000 quadcopter, painted in yellow and red DHL colors, carried a package of medicine across the Rhine River from a pharmacy to a target in front of the Deutsche Post DHL headquarters in Bonn, Germany.

According to a Deutsche Post spokesman, the company has no plans yet to start regular drone deliveries.

During the December test flights approved by local aviation authorities, the radio-controlled quadcopter never left the operator’s sight and flew below an altitude of 330ft (100m).

A YouTube video shows the flight: http://bit.ly/1g6CmdZ.

www.microdrones.com

Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper demonstrates electronic warfare potential

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA ASI) and Northrop Grumman Corp. have, for the second time, successfully demonstrated the Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper’s electronic attack capability featuring Northrop Grumman’s new Pandora electronic warfare (EW) system at the U.S. Marine Corps’ Weapons and Tactics Instructor course held at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.

“Our collaboration with the Marine Corps and Northrop Grumman demonstrates the operational flexibility of the Predator B from being primarily a counter-insurgency aircraft to a platform that can address a broader spectrum of operational requirements,” says Frank W. Pace, president, Aircraft Systems, GA-ASI.

The demonstration evaluated the capability of a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) to conduct electronic warfare missions in concert with other unmanned aircraft systems and EA-6B Prowlers against an integrated air defense system. The RPA, integrated into a Marine command and control network, supported a large aircraft strike package that addressed simulated targets located hundreds of miles away.

www.ga-asi.com; www.northropgrumman.com

Arcturus, Urban Robotics fly 3D imager

The GeoDragon sensor system has now been integrated and flown on an Arcturus UAV T-20 Tier II unmanned aerial vehicle built in Rohnert Park, Calif. The sensor system, enclosed in a wing-mounted pod, can capture high resolution 2D and 3D images. The sensor was designed by Urban Robotics in Portland, Ore. The GeoDragon system can create 3D reconstructions in near-real time and output high-resolution digital elevation models, LIDAR-like datasets, and wide-area maps. The system will be released in mid-2014.

GeoDragon imagery is post-processed using automated 3D algorithms to rapidly generate large mapping and modeling datasets. Urban Robotics develops software and hardware solutions for 3D ISR, remote sensing, and geospatial applications, including collection, post-processing, and data management. Typical missions include aerial mapping, drug interdiction, fire-fighting, border patrol, force protection, search and rescue, as well as military ISR. The T-20 is powered by a 190cc air-cooled, four-stroke, fuel- injected engine. The carbon fiber composite airframe allows for payloads up to 65 lb.

www.arcturus-uav.com

UAS measures coal ash spill

With a 3D model created using images from an unmanned aircraft, Wake Forest University researchers are tracking the extent of coal ash contaminants leaked into the Dan River in Eden, N.C.

Wake Forest biology professor Miles Silman and a team of researchers used the drone images to model the coal ash pond spill site and show how arsenic-contaminated water and ash spilled after the initial pipe burst. To create their model, researchers attached a camera to their unmanned aircraft and flew a grid-like pattern over the ash pond taking pictures at regular intervals. A video depicts where ash washed out from the pond basin.

Using their model and aerial images of the pond taken before the spill, the researchers estimated that 16 million to 20 million gallons of ash and water spilled out of the pond on Feb. 2, 2014, with up to 15 million gallons being released in subsequent days.

“Our goal is to help stakeholders deal with the spill and its consequences, and show the technology as a cheap and cost-effective way to monitor the environment,” Silman says.

www.wfu.edu

US Navy UAS demonstrator surpasses 10,000 combat flying hours

A Northrop Grumman Corp.-built UAS, used by the U.S. Navy for intelligence-gathering missions in the Middle East, surpassed 10,000 combat flying hours.

The Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstration (BAMS-D) aircraft for maritime surveillance is currently flying 15 missions per month and allows fleet commanders to identify and track potential targets of interest using a specialized suite of surveillance sensors.

Modified from the Global Hawk UAS designed for land surveillance, the aircraft regularly flies missions more than 24 hours long at high altitudes. The Navy also uses the BAMS-D to test new surveillance capabilities for the MQ-4C Triton UAS. Currently under development, the Triton uses a new sensor suite optimized for a maritime environment.

The Navy’s program of record calls for 68 Triton UAS to be built. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the program and is using two test aircraft to develop Triton’s capabilities through 2016.

www.northropgrumman.com

Lockheed Martin gets Squad Mission Support System & K-MAX demo contract

Lockheed Martin has received a contract from the U.S. Army Robotics Technology Consortium to conduct a fully autonomous reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition experiment using both its Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) unmanned ground vehicle and K-MAX unmanned air vehicle.

The Army and Lockheed Martin will test a K-MAX autonomous rotorcraft to transport a SMSS via sling load into a simulated area of interest deemed too risky for humans. The K-MAX will position itself over the intended release point and autonomously set down, releasing the SMSS upon command from a remote operator.

Once delivered, the sensor- and satellite communications-equipped SMSS will assess the area using a combination of autonomous capabilities and tele-operation that will be managed from a remote site, while the K-MAX returns to base.

www.lockheedmartin.com/mfc

Schiebel Camcopter S-100 UAS supports Olympic Winter Games

A watchful eye helped monitor the Olympic Games – the XXII Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi, Russia. The Schiebel Camcopter S-100 unmanned aircraft system (UAS), in cooperation with JSC Gorizont Russia: Gorizont Air S-100, provided surveillance within approximately 50km from the seaside Olympic village. All the information from the S-100 unmanned helicopter was transmitted in real-time to the unified safety control system of the event organizers.

The Italian Navy recently selected the Camcopter S-100 to provide support for its fleet, making it the first European Navy with a S-100 in operation. Mounted with a Wescam MX-10 and a Shine Micro Automatic Identification System, the S-100 can collect data during uninterrupted periods of up to six hours. Additionally, the S-100 will be mounted with a Schiebel-designed harpoon system, which supports takeoff and landing in conditions up to Sea State 5.

www.schiebel.net

Texas A&M prepares FAA test site

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi continues its preparations to be fully operational as one of only six federal test sites for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

Researchers have been conducting a series of test flights over South Texas with the university’s RS-16 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and another UAV owned by American Aerospace Advisors.

“With each test flight, we are building on our own research data that can lead to conclusions on the best ways to safely integrate UAS into our national airspace,” says Dr. David Bridges, director of the UAS program.

www.tamucc.edu