Tag Archives: drones

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has earmarked $5.8 million to fund the unmanned aircraft system research and training efforts of universities under the agency’s Air Transportation Center of Excellence for UAS program. FAA said Wednesday that the grants will support its Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) initiative. 

Army Research Laboratory has invested $8M in the University of Illinois Chicago for research that would explore recharging technologies for unmanned air vehicles. The cooperative agreement, issued in August, would support the design of ground vehicles where UAVs would mount on to autonomously recharge, the U.S. Army said Monday.

Army Research Laboratory has created a software-sensor combination designed to help unmanned aircraft systems prevent clashes with nearby power lines. ARL said that it uniquely configured 3D sensors in a way designed to inform autopilot systems about detected power lines.

Epirus, a venture-backed startup offering a counter-drone capability, has made an undisclosed strategic supplier agreement with Northrop Grumman to provide exclusive access to Leonidas, Epirus’ software-defined electromagnetic pulse system, Epirus reported on Monday. 

David Bernhardt, secretary at the Department of the Interior, has ordered DOI bureaus and offices to temporarily stop using its fleet of unmanned aircraft systems in operations that are not considered emergencies.

The Department of the Interior plans to stop operations under a large civilian drone program due to security concerns with China-made technology, the Financial Times reported Sunday. The plan addresses a risk of possible espionage from Beijing and may put a stop to the activity of almost 1K drones.

The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into drones that were spotted flying in Colorado and Nebraska, CNN reported Wednesday.

Mark Bathrik, director of the Interior Department’s Office of Aviation Services, told attendees at a Brookings Institution event that airspace regulations should also involve unmanned aerial systems that fly below 400 feet, Fedscoop reported Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, who leads the U.S. Marine Corps' Combat Development Command, said the service branch seeks more unmanned systems for surface, underwater and air operations, National Defense Magazine reported Wednesday. 

The U.S. Marine Corps plans to implement a vertical take-off feature for an Insitu-made large unmanned aircraft system, Marine Corps Times reported Wednesday. The service branch intends to boost the aircraft's performance for expeditionary missions via VTOL as part of the USMC 2019 aviation plan.