Up and Soaring - UAS

Air Force orders more Predators

General Atomics - Aeronautical Systems Inc. has been awarded $72 million to produce eight Predator B remotely piloted aircraft. The aircraft, designated MQ-9 Reaper Block 5 by the U.S. Air Force, will be constructed in Poway, California, and work is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2017.

This order is in addition to a $279 million U.S. Air Force contract issued in March 2015 for 24 MQ-9 Block 5 Reaper aircraft, associated spare parts, and support equipment. www.defense.gov; www.ga-asi.com

Airbus Group, NEXA Capital Partners team to pursue UAS commercialization

Airbus Group Inc. and NEXA Capital Partners LLC have agreed to pursue solutions for the widespread commercialization of unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

The collaboration brings together Airbus’ commercial aviation and air traffic management expertise with NEXA’s strategic aerospace business and project finance acumen. The two companies are exploring ways in which a range of industries could better exploit UAS technology to increase efficiency, drive down costs, and improve access.

“Together we have an opportunity to lead the aviation community and the business community through the current bottlenecks and change the way all industries think about unmanned aircraft,” says Allan McArtor, Airbus Group Inc. chairman and CEO. “Airbus Group wants to take a lead role in shaping UAS integration into the national airspace, and NEXA has the insight to help us grow our business in that direction.”

The two companies are exploring ways in which a range of industries could better exploit UAS technology to increase efficiency, drive down costs, and improve access. www.airbusgroupinc.com; www.nexacapital.com

NASA to cohost forum on managing expanding UAS traffic

NASA and the Silicon Valley chapter of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) are partnering to cosponsor the 2015 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Traffic Management Convention: A New Era in Aviation, July 28-30, 2015, at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.

Convention speakers include NASA and Federal Aviation Administration executives, as well as industry thought leaders, innovators, and stakeholders. Exhibits and flight demonstrations will feature developments in unmanned aerial systems technology and how it will impact the future of low-altitude flight.

Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington, says, “We see the need to establish a safe low altitude unmanned aerial traffic management system. Bringing together a broad spectrum of people interested in UAS technology will help us develop a well-coordinated plan that will guide us in the future.”

Participants will include representatives from the UAS community, agriculture, film and other industries, conventional aviation, government, and academia. Attendees will discuss developments in unmanned aerial systems technology, solutions for privacy concerns, safety and security, and the future impact of low-altitude flight on the emerging business sector. Sessions and demonstrations will examine the crossover between research, development and air traffic management, and highlight the latest issues, advancements, and opportunities in the aviation industry. www.svc-auvsi.org/attendee-information; www.aeronautics.nasa.gov

FAA approves Yamaha UAS for agricultural spraying

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A. an exemption to operate its RMax Type II G unmanned aerial system (UAS) in U.S. air space for commercial agricultural aircraft services, including dispersal of liquid or granular payloads. At 9ft long, 3.5ft wide, and weighing up to 218 lb with full payload, the RMax remotely piloted helicopter is the largest UAS so far approved to operate under FAA Section 333. In granting the exemption, the agency considered risk-mitigating factors such as RMax service history, pilot and spotter training requirements, system safety features, the intended low-altitude and remote area of operations, and other limitations.

The RMax UAS has been in operation since 1997 and logged more than two million flight hours, the FAA notes. Approximately 2,600 RMax UAS are in use worldwide, and Yamaha has developed production, certification, operation, and maintenance requirements for the aircraft.

As of May 28, 2015, the FAA had granted 479 petitions under Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 authorizing unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operations in the U.S. national airspace system (NAS), mainly allowing UAS to be used for aerial photography, mapping, and inspection. www.yamahaprecisionagriculture.com; www.faa.gov/uas

Textron Systems joins UAS Denmark

Textron Systems is participating in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Denmark. Founded in 2012, UAS Denmark and its network includes representation from all parts of the supply chain – industry, research institutions, and user organizations – to promote UAS development and testing and expand the market in Denmark and Europe.

Textron Systems supports customers in Europe, including the Swedish military, which currently uses the company’s Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (TUAS), and the Italian military, fielding an advanced-generation Shadow 200 system.

Textron Systems also serves commercial customers internationally in oil and gas operations with its Aerosonde UAS. www.textronsystems.com; http://goo.gl/cyg5VM

Mississippi team wins FAA national UAS center

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected a Mississippi State University (MSU)-led team to operate a new national center of excellence for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). MSU’s Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) will operate the new center. ASSURE is comprised of the top UAS universities from three countries and more than 100 government and industry partners.

The center of excellence (COE) will provide the agency and industry with research to maximize the potential of commercial unmanned systems with minimal changes to the current system regulating manned aircraft.

ASSURE will form teams between its member universities, government agencies, and industry partners to address both government and commercial UAS challenges. The FAA expects the COE will be able to begin research by September 2015 and be fully operational by January 2016.

Congress appropriated $5 million for the five-year agreement with the COE, which will be matched one-for-one by the team members.

The center’s work will be concentrated at Stennis Space Center to take advantage of airspace over the Gulf of Mexico, in the Mississippi Delta to conduct unmanned precision agriculture research, and around MSU’s Raspet Flight Research Lab in Starkville. www.msstate.edu; www.assureuas.org

FAA summary grants speed UAS exemptions

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is now using a summary grant process to speed up Section 333 exemption approvals for many commercial unmanned aerial system (UAS) operators. Section 333 of the 2012 FAA reauthorization law lets the secretary of transportation determine if certain low-risk UAS operations can be authorized prior to finalizing the small UAS proposed rule published in February 2015.

Although the FAA still reviews each Section 333 petition individually, the agency can issue a summary grant when it finds it has already granted a previous exemption similar to the new request.

The FAA now allows operations under these exemptions by people who hold a recreational or sport pilot certificate. Previously, operators were required to have at least a private pilot certificate. Also, a third-class medical certificate is no longer required. Now an operator only needs a valid driver’s license to satisfy the medical requirement. www.faa.gov/uas

FAA eases COAs for UAS test sites

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has made it simpler for the six unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test sites to conduct research by giving them blanket authorizations to fly public aircraft operations throughout the National Airspace System.

The certificates of waiver or authorization (COAs) allow small UAS (under 55 lb) operated by the test sites to fly up to 200ft above ground level anywhere in the country except restricted airspace and areas close to airports and heliports. Operators must fly during daytime visual-flight-rules conditions and keep UAS within the pilot’s visual line of sight. The new authorizations also let the test sites fly various types of UAS under a single COA, making it easier for them to conduct research missions.

The FAA expects this improved access for the test sites will provide more opportunities for research that may help the agency integrate UAS into the nation’s airspace more quickly. These expanded operational parameters for the test sites are similar to those the FAA has implemented for civil UAS operations authorized under a Section 333 exemption. www.faa.gov/uas

PrecisionHawk enters into research agreement

PrecisionHawk has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to advance research on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in rural areas. PrecisionHawk joins cable news network CNN and BNSF railway in this partnership forged under the Pathfinder program, an operational concept validation set up by the FAA to help integrate commercial drones into the U.S. national airspace.

“Even as we pursue our current rulemaking effort for small unmanned aircraft, we must continue to actively look for future ways to expand non-recreational UAS uses,” says FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.

The partnership will formulate a framework for fixed wing and multi-rotor UAS to operate in agriculture, forestry, and other rural industries. PrecisionHawk will also test the low altitude tracking & avoidance system (LATAS), its traffic management system for UAS. Testing will include on-aircraft transponders as well as LATAS traffic management ground-based hardware and software, including flying beyond line of sight under certain conditions. www.faa.gov/uas; www.precisionhawk.com