It’s always a big moment for an aircraft development program to get a formal designation. This means the program is progressing through the development and potential acquisition process well; however, there are still more decision points before an unmanned fighter jet takes to the skies alongside its manned counterparts.
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Welcome to The Buzz, a weekly roundup of news about consumer, enterprise, and defense uses for drones. For now, it’s in a written format, but soon there will be a return to our weekly podcast format. This week was a big week for controversies; between the investigation of the LA fire’s drone crash, Red Cat’s potential fraud, and DJI dropping No-Fly Zones, there was a lot.
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Even with the F-22 still considered the most dominant fighter the US Air Force has developed, the department is already looking towards its replacement, or lack thereof. The outgoing Air Force Secretary stated that the next-generation fighter program could rely on a “F-35 follow-on” that would simply manage unmanned combat air vehicles.
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At this point it’s pretty clear the US has an invasive drone problem – and a large one at that – though it’s still anyone’s guess who’s piloting the craft, or what authorities are going to do about controlling them.
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Something strange – and incredibly dangerous – has been happening in the Arizona skies, where pilots of advanced F-16 and F-35 fighter jets reported 22 sightings and at least one collision with drones in or around restricted US Air Force zones. But beyond the basic details of those encounters, the mystery surrounding them remains total.
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Cargo drone transport specialist Silent Arrow is looking to extend the dramatic innovations behind its 2019 heavy-lift GD-2000 transport glider through its new project developing a UAV capable of carrying similarly massive payloads up to 345 miles for the US Air Force.
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Verifying that intended flights will unfold in authorized airspaces should top the checklist of both leisure and professional drone pilots before they take to the skies – a normally routine precaution that an alarmingly high number of operators near the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas are clearly ignoring.
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Ascendant cargo delivery drone startup MightyFly has been recruited by the US Air Force’s emerging tech development unit, AFWERX, in a contract initially focusing on the company’s fully autonomous self-loading payload system for next generation freight aircraft.
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Responding to political criticism and even some concern within the next generation aviation sector, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said it will team up with the US Air Force to study the operation and effective integration of advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft into the nation’s airspace.
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Adding to its collection of precedents in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft development, Joby said it has become the first manufacturer of future air taxis to deliver its craft to a US customer – in this case the Air Force.
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Less than 24 hours after Red Cat Holdings announced its reception of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification under looming remote identification regulations, the security, defense, and military UAV specialist revealed the second multimillion-dollar order this month for its Teal 2 drones from the US Department of Defense’s official procurement agency.
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Defense and security UAV and robotics group Red Cat Holdings has announced its new contract to supply a US government agency with over 150 of its Teal 2 drones, which will be used for the monitoring and protection of US Air Force bases.
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Archer, California developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has announced a contract with the US Air Force worth up to $142 million, and opening the door to deployment of its Midnight air taxi plane for operation adapted to military activities.
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The United States Air Force (USAF) has renewed its partnership with the Drone Racing League (DRL) for the seventh year. Not only has the USAF now become the longest-reigning DRL partner, but for the first time, the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces will have an endorsement with a DRL pilot who will fly as the official USAF Team Pilot.
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Leading developer of battery-powered air taxis, Joby, is finishing April with a pair of major business accords, including a deal worth $55 million to provide its electric vertical takeoff and landing planes (eVTOL) and flight training to the US Air Force.
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Boston-based startup GreenSight is reporting a significant business breakthrough with the selection of its WeatherHive drone swarm atmosphere sensing tech for prototype development by the US Air Force (USAF) and Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).
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US defense and security company Leidos Inc. has won a $26 million Air Force Research Laboratory contract to deliver its next-generation counter-drone system designed to neutralize attacks by both individual and swarming UAVs.
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The US Air Force is clearly serious about combatting the growing threat of small drones deployed for terrorism or hostile military purposes. It has not only developed a weapon capable of taking out scores of drones simultaneously, but it has even named that mighty asset after a fearsome, hammer-wielding Norse god-dash-superhero.
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