UAV news
UAV Industry Thriving In Southern California.
The Los Angeles Times (9/11, Hennigan) reported on General Atomics Aeronautical Systems complex where they make "the Predator and Reaper drones." This "1.9-million-square-foot facility is a showcase for Southern California's drone industry, which employs an estimated 10,000 people. The fast-growing business is fueled by Pentagon spending...and billions more chipped in by the CIA and Congress." Some experts feel "the military and private companies alike will have fleets of robotic planes that can do just about everything piloted aircraft can do, such as carrying cargo and engaging in aerial combat."

Jets Almost Launched To Take Out Rogue Drone Near DC.
NBC Nightly News (9/9, story 12, 0:30, Williams) reported, "We also learned today US fighter jets were nearly launched last month to shoot down an unmanned Navy drone that had gone astray in the air space near the nation's capital. The admiral in charge of the Northern Command said he was in the operations center when controllers lost contact with the drone on radar and it flew into restricted air space. Just as the fighter aircraft were about to launch apparently the Navy managed to reprogram the drone and bring it back."
        The AP (9/10, Baldor) reports the news "underscores safety concerns with unmanned aircraft" flying in civilian airspace. "The FAA has been working for some time on new regulations governing the use of drones, but has yet to complete them." Navy Adm. James Winnefeld "said discussions are continuing with the FAA to find ways to streamline the approval process. At the same time, he said the Defense Department also must address FAA's safety concerns by insuring that the drones have the software and systems necessary to fly safely."

Napolitano Announces More Drones For US-Mexico Border Security.
The Arizona Republic (8/31, Wagner) reports that "the number of Predator drone aircraft flying surveillance along the Southwest border will double by Jan. 1, reflecting the Obama administration's commitment to securing the US-Mexico line." Listing "the government's Top 10 goals for a reinforced border, along with achievements in each category," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the President "has dedicated unprecedented levels of manpower and technology to combat smuggling and illegal immigration."

Skunk Works Reveals Two UAVs.
Flight Daily News (8/26, Trimble) reports that Lockheed Martin's advanced development program division "Skunk Works" revealed "two previously internal concepts for new unmanned air vehicles (UAVs)" at AUVSI. The concept image of "the multipurpose long-endurance (MPLE - pronounced "maple") reveals a twin-boomed UAV with a high-aspect ratio wing set against a desert backdrop at a medium altitude elevation." Bob Ruszkowski, a Skunk Works systems engineer said the MPLE "will challenge the Aurora Flight Sciences' Orion vehicle for a new Air Force Research Laboratory contract." Skunk Works also "described its approach to the US Navy's new requirement for an unmanned, carrier-launched, airborne surveillance and strike (UCLASS) system."

Northrop Unveils Two UAVs For Potential Military Use.
In a series of reports on this year's AUVSI conference, Flight Daily News (8/24, Trimble) reports, "The revelation of two all-new aircraft concepts from Northrop Grumman show that the manufacturer is planning an aggressive new push to expand deeper into the market for unmanned air vehicles." The company unveiled "two concept designs - MQ-X and MUVR" which represent the company's "internal strategy for addressing two of the US military's potential requirements in the next decade."

Euro Hawk UAS Completes First Flight.
Seattle Post Intelligencer (6/30, Cohen) reported Northrop Grumman's Euro Hawk UAS completed its first flight Tuesday. The UAS "took off at approximately 10:32 a.m. from Northrop Grumman's Palmdale, Calif., plant and climbed to 32,000 feet over the desert skies before landing nearly two hours later at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif." The Intelligencer notes that "the German Ministry of Defence in 2007 awarded a contract for the surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to EuroHawk GmbH - a 50-50 joint venture of Northrop and EADS Defence & Security, which will provide a new signals intelligence system for the aircraft."

Navy Releases RFI For Carrier Based, Stealth UAV.
Aviation Week (3/29, Norris) reported aerospace companies have until May to respond to a US Navy RFI for a "carrier-based, stealthy, unmanned, strike and surveillance system capable of integrating with manned aircraft as part of a carrier air wing by 2018." This unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike RFI "calls for a notional system made up of 4-6 autonomously launched and recoverable vehicles to operate in 'irregular and hybrid warfare scenarios.'" This UAV "must be able to receive fuel from hose-and-drogue Navy-style tankers as well as from probe-equipped U.S. Air Force tankers." Furthermore, the aircraft must be able to utilize "lethal precision weapons to suppress, defeat, destroy, deceive or influence a range of enemy targets," and will likely have folding wings and tie-down points.

UAS Reaches One Million Flight Hours.
The Huntsville (AL) Times (3/18, Kesner) reported the Army will soon reach a million flight hours among Unmanned Aircraft Systems. While "the number isn't important in and of itself," Col. Gregory Gonzalez, UAS project manager in the Program Executive Office for Aviation at Redstone Arsenal, said "what it represents is what is important." UAS has allowed "soldiers and commanders see both the enemy and themselves in ways they couldn't before" said Maj. Gen. James Myles, commander of the Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command, adding "You're saving soldiers' lives in a powerful way."

Israel Defense Forces Considering AirMule UAV For Battlefield Ambulance.
Aviation Week (3/9, Eshel) reported the IDF medical corps "is looking at procuring an innovative unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that will evacuate critical casualties directly from the battlefield to the hospital." One of the candidates is the AirMule, "a vertical takeoff and landing UAV developed by Urban Aeronautics Ltd., an Israeli company specializing in Fancraft technology." Lt. Col. Gil Hirschorn said "an important benefit of AirMule is its ability to land in areas of a fire-saturated battlefield that would be inaccessible to other vehicles" and that the UAV "will be equipped with stretchers, air conditioning and a communications system that establishes video contact between injured soldiers and the medical center." The AirMule, which is currently being tested, utilizes a ducted-fan vehicle and Vane Control System.

Israel Defense Forces Considering AirMule UAV For Battlefield Ambulance.
Aviation Week (3/9, Eshel) reported the IDF medical corps "is looking at procuring an innovative unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that will evacuate critical casualties directly from the battlefield to the hospital." One of the candidates is the AirMule, "a vertical takeoff and landing UAV developed by Urban Aeronautics Ltd., an Israeli company specializing in Fancraft technology." Lt. Col. Gil Hirschorn said "an important benefit of AirMule is its ability to land in areas of a fire-saturated battlefield that would be inaccessible to other vehicles" and that the UAV "will be equipped with stretchers, air conditioning and a communications system that establishes video contact between injured soldiers and the medical center." The AirMule, which is currently being tested, utilizes a ducted-fan vehicle and Vane Control System.

New Predator Variants Inch Closer To Deployment.
Aviation Week (2/28, Norris) reported two Predator variants for the US Army and Customers and Border Protection Service "will move closer to initial deployment following the completion of key tests in California this month." Weapon testing of the MQ-1C Sky Warrior, "a heavily modified derivative of the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) Predator A," was successfully completed this week. Additionally, GA-ASI CEO Neal Blue stated, "Over-water developmental tests of the Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) first Guardian UAV" resulted in "a flawless 8-hr. flight." This maritime variant, "distinguished by a belly-mounted APS-134 SeaVue surveillance radar, is aimed at drug traffic-monitoring."

BAE Systems Sees Mantis 1 As First Step Into UAV Market.
Aviation Week (2/22, Barrie) reported the BAE believes its Mantis medium-altitude long-endurance UAV "is a key program, not just for BAE Systems, but for the broader U.K. sector as it tries to establish a position in the medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV arena." The Mantis, "the first phase of which has been jointly funded by industry and the U.K. Defense Ministry, is aimed at addressing British military needs for a deep and persistent surveillance platform," and is seen as "crucial to sustaining a military aerospace design and engineering national base." Ian Muldowney, BAE's Mantis program manager, said "The Mantis Spiral 1 air vehicle does not reflect the full capability intended for the system; the aim was to demonstrate the design capability, rather than the full envelope of the UAV."

Israeli Air Force Unveils New Drone.
The New York Times /AP (2/22, A6) reports that "Israel's Air Force on Sunday introduced a fleet of huge pilotless planes that can remain in the air for a full day and fly as far as the Persian Gulf, putting Iran within their range." The Heron TP UAV "has a wingspan of 86 feet, making it the size of a Boeing 737 jetliner and the largest unmanned aircraft in Israel's military."

Officers Believe UAVs Are Crucial To Navy's Future.
Government Video (2/4) reported Rear Adm. Wendi B. Carpenter, a commander at the Navy Warfare Development Command, told an audience at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International that the Navy "sees unmanned craft as being crucial to our future operations." In particular, she noted that UAVs have helped patrol the areas of the Somali coast that are "plagued by pirate attacks." She further added that the future of UAVs depends on "reasonable costs, and improved ability to get data off the crafts and in sync with other information systems, improving maritime awareness." Rear Adm. Terry Kraft, director of ISR intelligence, concurred with Carpenter, stating he "sees a 20-year trend of the Navy moving away from manned aircraft with the unmanned on the rise."

"Flying is for droids." Obi-Wan Kenobi