Research and Markets has projected that technological advancements in the production of military and commercial drones will help fuel the worldwide drone market’s growth to $16.7 billion in value by 2022. The company said Wednesday that efforts by the Federal Aviation Administration and other regulatory agencies to formulate policies that support use of military unmanned aerial […] More

Boeing has secured a registration number from the Federal Aviation Administration for its proposed unmanned aircraft system for the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25 Stingray carrier-based tanker drone program, FlightGlobal reported Thursday. The company received Dec. 26 the FAA registration number N234MQ for its proposed “T1” drone prototype. Boeing previewed its demonstrator for the MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueling tanker program […] More

The American National Standards Institute seeks participants for a recently launched collaborative effort that will support the integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the U.S. national airspace system. ANSI said Monday the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Standardization Collaborative aims to coordinate and advance the creation of UAS integration standards and compliance assessment programs as well as foster international […] More

General Atomics and an Intelsat subsidiary have conducted tests to demonstrate the compatibility of a satellite platform with the beam switching functionality of an unmanned aerial system. The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems-built Block 5 Predator B/MQ-9 UAS was able to transition between the two spot beams on one of Intelsat EpicNG satellites – Intelsat 29e – […] More

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has unveiled a new concept that seeks to develop an armed unmanned aerial system designed to carry and launch air-to-air missiles and that can be produced through on-demand rapid manufacturing process, Popular Mechanics reported Thursday. Air Force Lt. Col. Jimmy Jones, a program manager at DARPA’s strategic technology office, said […] More

General Atomics‘ aeronautical systems business has flown the MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely piloted aircraft in non-restricted airspace after the company received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. The company said Friday the MQ-9B RPA flew a 275-mile trip that lasted approximately one hour and 45 minutes from Laguna Airfield at Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona to the Gray […] More

The Federal Aviation Administration has conducted a flight test of a Near Space Corp.-built drone to evaluate how FAA’s surveillance tools could help the agency detect and monitor the return of commercial spacecraft through the National Air Space. NSC used a stratospheric balloon platform to launch and deploy the High Altitude Shuttle System at Tillamook […] More

Intel has unveiled a new unmanned aerial system designed to perform specifically for light shows in a push to redefine entertainment and create new experiences under the night sky. Anil Nanduri, Intel vice president and general manager of unmanned aviation systems for the Perceptual Computing Group, wrote in a blog post published Friday 500 Shooting Star […] More

Leonardo-Finmeccanica, Airbus and Dassault Aviation have received a contract to conduct a two-year definition study of a program that seeks to develop a medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft system for European countries. Germany, France, Spain and Italy participated in the launch of the contract for the European MALE RPAS program through a meeting led by the […] More

Kenneth Callicutt, director of capability and resource integration at the U.S. Strategic Command, has said unmanned aircraft vehicles could be deployed in non-permissive environments, operate as part of a network and expand manned aircraft’s “sensor net,” Aviation International News reported Tuesday. Bill Carey writes Callicutt made the remarks Tuesday at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space […] More

The Federal Aviation Administration has granted a certificate of waiver that permits Intel to operate multiple small unmanned aircraft systems at night within special security notice flight restricted areas in the U.S. Intel said Thursday the Part 107 waiver extends a Section 333 exemption that the company obtained to fly 100 small UAS for its Drone 100 light show in Palms Springs, […] More

Intel is continuing its push establish a presence in the unmanned aerial systems market through the development of obstacle avoidance technology and advisory roles of the company’s leaders in the UAS community, UAS Magazine reported Monday. Luke Geiver writes the company has integrated and tested its RealSense sensor package to measure its capacity to provide common drones with autonomous flight, […] More