Tag Archives: drones

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. 

Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and John Thune, R-S.D., are urging the Federal Aviation Administration to publish a proposed rule on remote identification of drones to prevent the entry of unauthorized drones in critical areas. Markey and Thune sent a letter to the Department of Transportation calling for action on the rule that would permit authorities and the public to remotely track unmanned aircraft systems and their operators during flight, Markey’s office said in a statement released Monday.

The U.S. military is expected to increase investment in unmanned aerial systems starting in 2020 with $3.7 billion in funding from President Trump’s latest defense budget, National Defense Magazine reported Monday.

The Department of the Interior saved $14.8 million in 2018 as it expanded its fleet of unmanned aircraft systems to support operations across the U.S. The department released its UAS Program 2018 Use Report Monday that details the agency’s spending and aircraft use during the year.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency completed a demonstration of its new collaborative operations in denied environment system which enables drones to perform tasks in areas without communications systems and GPS.

The U.S. Army began a demonstration of cooperative operations between manned and unmanned rotary aircraft, Flight Global reported Thursday. The Advanced Teaming Demonstration Program began on March 14 and aims to test a new technology designed to facilitate manned-unmanned coordination.

A senior defense official clarified that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is prioritizing ethics and human guidance in a program that seeks artificial intelligence-based drones designed to distinguish enemies from civilians and allied troops in urban battles, Defense One reported Friday.

The U.S. Marine Corps wants to make a decision on testing and fielding its anti-drone Marine Air Defense Integrated System by the end of the year, USNI News reported Monday. MADIS is a platform designed to detect and neutralize drones from adversaries by integrating radars, optics, jammers and passive detection sensors.