UAV
US extends support for Spanish MQ-9A drones
The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Spain of follow-on contractor logistics support for MQ-9A Block 5 UAVs and related equipment for an estimated cost of $110m
USAF tests new Ghost Reaper capabilities on MQ-9A
Enhanced capabilities for the USAF’s General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) MQ-9A Reaper RPAS fleet are being tested by the New York Air National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing
MQ-4C Triton senses improved avoidance capability
Northrop Grumman has been contracted by the US Navy to prototype and reduce the risk of integrating sense and avoid capabilities into the high-altitude, long-endurance MQ-4C Triton autonomous system
Germany approves funding for additional Heron 1 UAV in Mali
The German government has approved the release of funding to lease an additional Heron 1 UAV to aid UN operations in Mali, bringing the in-country total to four, as well as securing the use of a third ground control station
Fire Scout crashes into the USS Charleston
A US Navy-operated Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout has crashed into the side of the Littoral Combat Ship USS Charleston (LCS-18), while the vessel was transiting through the Western Pacific to Guam on April 26
US approves MQ-9B sale to Australia
The US State Department has approved the possible Foreign Military Sale of 12 ‘weapons-ready’ GA-ASI MQ-9B remotely-piloted aircraft to the Australian government
France orders eight more Caracals alongside second VSR700 prototype
France has ordered a further eight Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracals for the French Air and Space Force along with a second prototype of the maritime VSR700 vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle
Japan’s first Global Hawk completes maiden flight
Northrop Grumman has successfully completed this maiden flight of the first RQ-4B Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air vehicle for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force
AeroVironment to supply Puma 3 AE drones to NATO
US-based unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) manufacturer AeroVironment of Simi Valley, California, has received four contracts from the NATO Support and Procurement Agency for its Puma 3 tactical UAS
Tech and training needed for FVL pilots to navigate congested airspace
Future rotorcraft pilots will need technology and training to operate in airspace filled with drones, the Association of the United States Army’s Global Force Next conference heard in March