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GA-ASI Advances Aerial Recovery for SUAS and ALE

Wednesday, October 18th, 2023

SAN DIEGO – 10 October 2023 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) recently advanced its Aerial Recovery System for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems/Air-Launched Effects (SUAS/ALE) by deploying and retracting a towline with a “smart end feature” from a GA-ASI MQ-20 Avenger® Unmanned Aircraft System in flight. The demonstration took place on Sept. 20, 2023, over Dugway Proving Ground, Utah.

During this demonstration, a hoist from Breeze-Eastern equipped with GA-ASI’s smart end feature was integrated into Avenger’s payload bay. While in flight, the towline was deployed away from Avenger to the optimal distance for aerial recovery. The smart end feature was able to wirelessly transmit its position back to Avenger, confirming its ability to transmit the data to a nearby SUAS/ALE for aerial recovery. The smart end feature’s “deployed” position correlated to GA-ASI’s multi-degree-of-freedom finite element catenary models, confirming its potential for SUAS/ALE aerial recovery.

“Integrating air-launched UAS from Group 5 unmanned aircraft is possible, in part, thanks to advances in relative navigation technology, complex towline analysis, and multi-aircraft control being pioneered by GA-ASI,” said Mike Atwood, Vice President of Advanced Programs at GA-ASI. “We are excited to see this technology enable long-range kill chains from today’s manned and unmanned systems supporting operations in highly contested environments.”

Beyond just captive carry back to base, the SUAS/ALE can be refueled, recharged, and/or rearmed and then redeployed. Redeployment can occur from the host aircraft, enabling SUAS/ALEs to conduct their own orbits from airborne launch and recovery positions. Aerial redeployment allows UAS like GA-ASI’s Avenger or MQ-9A Reaper to serve as mobile command centers for a network of SUAS/ALEs in a persistent, expansive grid for surveillance, electronic attack, enemy air defense suppression, communication pathways, or joint all-domain mobile command and control for days or weeks at a time.

Breeze-Eastern’s commercial-off-the-shelf helicopter rescue hoists, with performance capabilities that meet or exceed system requirements, provide a high Technology Readiness Level (TRL), and offer a low-risk solution to ensure SUAS/ALE aerial recovery. Throughout the hoist integration and flight testing, Breeze-Eastern provided technical and logistical support.

Ian Azeredo, Breeze-Eastern’s Chief Engineer, commented, “With this milestone demonstration, GA-ASI has once again awed the aerospace industry. The professionalism and surgical ingenuity shown in the integration phase by the Aerial Recovery team all but guarantee future program success.”

The novel aerial recovery concept utilizes a towline and smart end feature, which serves as a beacon and mechanical interface for aerial recovery. The SUAS/ALE calculates its precise position relative to the smart end feature for navigation into towline intercept, followed by a maneuver to capture the end feature. Once secure on the towline, the SUAS/ALE folds its wings and stops its engine to transition into a passively stable towed body. A podded hoist aboard the capital ship reels in the SUAS/ALE to a captive carriage state where the two platforms return to base together.

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Steadicopter to Present Comprehensive Sensor-to-Shooter Solution Capabilities for Maneuvering Forces Utilizing its Unmanned Helicopters Systems

Saturday, October 7th, 2023

With both the Golden Eagle and the Black Eagle, forces can achieve remote terrain dominance and pinpoint accurate lethal capability over land and sea.

AUSA 2023, 9-11 October, Washington DC, Hall C Stand 3625

04 October 2023. Steadicopter, a leader in the Rotary Unmanned Aerial Systems (RUAS) industry, to present, for the first time in the US a comprehensive sensor-to-shooter solution capabilities based on its RUAV platforms: the Golden Eagle with precise strike capabilities and the Black Eagle family for accurate ISR operations.

Based on the combat-proven Black Eagle 50 Electric platform, the Golden Eagle incorporates AI-based technology, and a uniquely Airborne Remotely Control Weapon System (ARCWS). AI-based technology enhances situational awareness and enables autonomous multi-target classification and tracking, while the ARCWS locks on the target, tracks it, and ensures precise target engagement.

The Golden Eagle integrates the Smartshooter’s SMASH Dragon system – A unique stabilization concept with proprietary target acquisition, tracking algorithms and sophisticated computer vision capabilities that allow accurate hitting of static and moving targets. The system can utilize various types of weapons such as 5.56 – 7.62mm rifles, sniper rifles, 40mm grenade launches and others, providing tactical maneuvering forces with remote terrain dominance and pinpoint lethal accuracy.

Using advanced data processing, the AI system autonomously identifies and distinguishes between different types of targets, including individuals and vehicles, whether they are in motion or stationary. It can also determine if they have been previously present in the field.

Lightweight and thereby enabling long mission endurance, the Golden Eagle is extremely cost-effective, simple to operate, and easy to maintain.

The Black Eagle 50 (BE50) is a true game-changer for uncrewed operations, providing forces with the most cost-effective, superior-high-quality real-time ISR solution, over land and maritime domains, by enabling a unique combination of impressive covert flight endurance and an exceptionally versatile sensor suite. With its open architecture modular design, the BE50 accommodates the latest mission payloads, such as EO/IR, SAR, Maritime Patrol Radar (MPR), SIGINT, AIS receiver, tactical communication relay, cargo delivery and more.

With a near-to-zero operational, maintenance & logistic footprint, the BE50H provides wide-area persistent surveillance and coverage for long durations and has all the advantages of the rotary-UAS, such as persistent hovering, enabling additional concepts of operations for many mission applications.

Both systems withstand harsher weather conditions and can carry and fly with heavy and asymmetric payloads.

“Steadicopter is proud to introduce, for the first time in the United States, its advanced tactical unmanned helicopter platforms for precision sensor-to-shooter operation, with minimal collateral damage”, says Noam Lidor, VP Sales, Marketing & Business Development at Steadicopter.

“The company is a supplier of systems and services for the IDF and the Israeli Navy as well as for other customers around the world. We are eager to foster partnerships with various defense and HLS organizations in the United States as our systems are equipped with technologies tailored to the requirements of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, SOCOM and HLS users.”

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A New HUSAR in the Sky: Rheinmetall Wins Bundeswehr Order to Supply LUNA NG Air-Supported Reconnaissance System

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023

The German Bundeswehr has contracted with Rheinmetall to supply the new LUNA NG air-supported reconnaissance drone. The amendment contract signed on 28 September 2023 by the President of Germany’s Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support, or BAAINBw, Annette Lehnigk-Emden, serves to continue the project with the new contractor Rheinmetall following the insolvency of the original system manufacturer. The amendment contract concretises the measures resulting from the takeover of the procurement contract by Rheinmetall. The takeover contract was already concluded in 2022.

The LUNA NG, a German acronym standing for “Air-supported Unmanned Short-range Reconnaissance Equipment, Next Generation”, will be known in the German armed forces as HUSAR. In all, twelve production systems have been ordered as well as a pilot system. The order is worth around €200 million (without value added tax). The first production system is due to be delivered in the second quarter of 2025. Also included in the order are a spare parts package and training support.

The HUSAR – as the name suggests – will be assigned to the German Army’s reconnaissance branch and also to the artillery. Another German acronym, HUSAR stands for “High-Efficiency Unmanned System for Medium-Range Reconnaissance”. Each system consists of five reconnaissance drones, two ground control systems, two launcher vehicles, two antenna masts, a repair shop and three transport platforms.

Experience gained in the war in Ukraine shows the decisive importance of real-time reconnaissance results at operational level. The LUNA NG was developed precisely for this purpose. It is one of the world’s newest systems for unmanned air-supported reconnaissance, classification and recognition of objects in real time.

Along with its outstanding performance parameters and type certification by Germany’s Federal Aviation Office, the LUNA NG is unique in its weight class, with a maximum take-off weight of 110 kilograms. Thanks to its aerodynamic, ultralight, high-stability design, the LUNA NG can remain aloft for over 12 hours.

Now official, the new order marks another important milestone for the UAV as well for Rheinmetall’s digitalization strategy. LUNA NG is a state-of-the-art sensor component for network-enabled operations which significantly enhances the effectiveness of the sensor-to-shooter chain. At the same time, the LUNA NG offers a basis for future development of the Rheinmetall product portfolio, including a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability and new tactical possibilities thanks to a payload capacity of over 30 kilograms.

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Special Forces of the German Armed Forces to use Vector reconnaissance drones from Quantum Systems in the future

Thursday, September 28th, 2023

German drone manufacturer from Munich wins “FALKE” tender from the German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw)

Germany, Munich, September 27, 2023 – Quantum-Systems GmbH, Munich-based manufacturer of dual-use reconnaissance drones that use multi-sensor technology to collect data for government agencies and commercial users, yesterday signed a framework agreement with the BAAINBw for the delivery of Vector reconnaissance drones.

Delivery of 14 unmanned aerial systems begins at the end of 2024

In November 2022, the German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) published the project under the name “Framework contract for the procurement of remotely piloted reconnaissance systems, airborne, short range” – “FALKE” for short. The complex performance specifications of the competitive award procedure placed numerous requirements on the future supplier of the unmanned systems. Quantum Systems successfully submitted a bid and was able to conclude the framework agreement with the BAAINBw on September 26, 2023.

Delivery of the first 14 systems is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2024. In the future, the Bundeswehr will thus have a system for precise reconnaissance that can be deployed quickly and independently.

Requirements for availability, innovation capability and precise reconnaissance methods

The vertical take-off and landing capable drone type Vector provides the German Army’s special forces with a market-available tactical reconnaissance system optimized for their range of operations and meeting requirements in terms of range, flight time and sensor capability. Vector enables precise reconnaissance over a range of up to 30 km with a flight duration of up to three hours. The integrated ‘Raptor’ combi-sensor is equipped with an optical and an infrared camera, enabling day and night operations in all climates and under challenging environmental conditions.

For the operational tasks of the Army’s special forces, precise reconnaissance is a mandatory requirement.

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NDIA Future Forces Conference 23 Poster #4 – Deadly UAS Homing Threats of the Future

Thursday, September 28th, 2023

This is the fourth installment in our effort to share examples of posters which are being presented during this week’s Future Force Capabilities Conference presented by the National Defense Industrial Association. We’ll let them speak for themselves.

The contact info is on the poster for those interested.

Posted in NDIA, UAS | 1 Comment »

Whiskey 5 – Eagle Eye Innovations

Monday, September 25th, 2023

Who?

Eagle Eye Innovations (EEI) was founded in 2013 by Sion Roberts, an ex-sensor operator for the MQ-9 Reaper in the Royal Air Force (RAF), delivering Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) training. EEI quickly became a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Recognised Assessment Entities (RAE) delivering accredited training services to the UK market, and is now one of the longest running RAEs.

The company has since grown significantly over the last 5 years, including increasing its ownership and Directorship with key experience to help grow the company beyond its roots. In addition, the team is now 35 strong, with plans to grow further in Q4 2023, and boasts over 550 years of military experience and over 50,000hrs instructing and operating Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms across the Air, Land, and Maritime domains, including exquisite platforms such as the RAFs MQ-9 Reaper.

Currently, EEI operates across 5 core departments (see below); Training Academy, Technical Services, Defence & Security, Special Projects, and EEI Asset Protection Solutions (EEI-APS), with a key to success being that they do not make RPAS / drones. Rather, EEI specialises in supporting customers through requirement definition, procurement support, integration, training, and operational services; ensuring the customer procures the correct system for their needs and realises its full capability.

What?

Being system agnostic, EEI provides services across all classes of RPAS, regardless of size, weight, and complexity, to the commercial and defence sectors globally. The trusted, equipment independent nature of the organisation has grown a position of trust acting as the ‘customer friend’ in a rapidly developing technology space, and has become a ‘one-stop-shop’ for RPAS support solutions for many commercial and defence customers globally.

EEIs vision is to enable safe RPAS operations for the world, leveraging high-end, ex-military expertise to assist customers from all walks of life to access and operate ground breaking RPAS technology to enhance their services or operations, safely.

Key to EEIs capability is being able to work closely with customers to understand ‘why’ or ‘how’ RPAS/drones can be of benefit across any industry, developing key equipment requirements, putting output before equipment. This model enables a more informed procurement decision and invariably mitigates spiralling program costs compared to less informed equipment procurement decisions.

Beyond requirement analysis and procurement support, EEIs industry leading training analysis, development, build and delivery services in the RPAS sector are at the heart of the organisations vision. Regularly, customers across commercial and defence sectors engage with EEI having experienced inferior training elsewhere due to the quality of product, delivery, and after sales support. Indeed, EEI services go well beyond training, supporting customers with integration services, Test and Evaluation (T&E) of new and novel technology, operational support through direct support to customer operations or delivering operations on behalf of the customer, and Research & Development (R&D) to help identify emerging gaps and opportunities for the technology within the global marketplace. A new and novel application of this technology is its use in lifesaving off the UK shores. EEI has teamed with the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) to ensure our coastal lifeguards are trained to utilise RPAS/drones to increase the likelihood of survival for those individuals that find themselves in distress at sea.

One of the newest areas of EEI is the Special Projects department. This team offers partners a discreet operationally focussed framework with appropriate security safeguards. Special projects are geared to understand and support the RPAS needs of other private and public entities in complex environments that fall outside of our traditional offerings wherever their operations occur around the world.

When?

The EEI journey began with the conception of the company on the 31st of July 2013, delivering groundbreaking monthly RPAS training courses to the UK market at the beginning of 2014.

In late 2018, Alex Kasperczyk (Director of Business Development) and Dominic Smith (Director of Operations) left the RAF to invest into EEI, which enabled the next stage of growth for the organisation and expanded the scope of its services into the defence sector. EEI now delivers its suite of services to all three Services and a large percentage of UK Emergency Services.

In 2021, EEI teamed with Jordan Crowns’ Crown Consulting organisation to develop a roadmap to delivering assured and effective security enhanced with the use of RPAS. This resulted in Crown Consulting being absorbed into EEI to create EEI Asset Protection Solutions (EEI-APS) that now delivers domestic security to high profile private clients and large-scale events, international crisis and risk management services to a variety of clients, and organic support to EEI to enable expeditionary RPAS services into complex or hostile environments.

In September 2023, EEI will be launching EEI Europe in Malta at the Maltese Air Show. Building on successes and growth over the last decade, this strategically important step will give access to new markets and customers around Europe, and further afield, as the organisations continues to drive towards its vision.

Where?

Headquartered in Lincoln, UK, EEI has supported clients as far a field as Australia, Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Launching EEI Europe from Malta will enable a more global reach for the organisation, give the ability to work closely with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) following BREXIT, and provide a launch pad for support to customers beyond Europe.

EEI has several pre-established flight sites across the UK to support customer training wherever they may be, with the intent to grow this overseas with the establishment of EEI Europe. The ‘jewel in the crown’ being the EEI Centre of Excellence (CoE); a private 300m grass airstrip less then 10mins from the EEI HQ in Lincoln.

Why?

As RPAS/drone technology becomes more accessible for all customers globally, the use cases become more complex, and the technology itself accelerates into new, untested capability areas daily, the importance of safe RPAS operations becomes increasingly critical to ensure its succeeds and thrives alongside traditional aviation.

Recent examples in the UK have seen commercial RPAS/drone operators having received legal action against them for using their technology in an unsafe manner or in a restricted environment. To mitigate this, education is key and EEI aim to be at the heart of this now and into the future.

In an ever-growing and saturated market such as the RPAS equipment industry, it’s important for an organisation like EEI can independently support clients with the development of appropriate, efficient, and safe solutions that provide operational and economic advantage.

For more information visit our website www.eeinnovationsltd.com or email info@eeinnovationsltd.com

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Drone Evolution Launches Sentinel TetheredUAV at DSEI 2023

Tuesday, September 12th, 2023

London, 12 September, 2023: Drone Evolution launches SENTINEL, its new, tethered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system at DSEI 2023. Designed and built in the UK, SENTINEL has been teamed with Steatite’s MPU5 MESH radio, creating an airborne rebroadcasting node which provides a persistent surveillance capability for situational awareness. The SENTINEL tether system is quicker to deploy and lighter to carry than a mast option. The combination of a tethered UAV system and radio/camera/thermal imaging system is ideal for applications such as:

• Intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance

• Force protection

• Event security

SENTINEL can be powered by Drone Evolution’s patented Freedom Power Supply Unit (PSU). This PSU can output 100V-500V from a 12V or 24V vehicle power supply, allowing SENTINEL to be mobilised and remain airborne for extended periods of time, reaching heights of 50m for 6 hours and potentially beyond. SENTINEL is the only system capable of running directly from a 12v or 24v power supply such as a vehicle or batteries (with no inverter or generator required) as well as mains power. Additionally, SENTINEL’s weatherproofing and high wind resistance allows for long endurance in challenging environments.

With both SENTINEL and Dis1 radios operating at ground level, it is possible to establish a baseline range to determine the range and throughput of a Wave Relay point-to-point network in an urban environment.

Toby Townrow, Communications Director at Drone Evolution, said: “Tethering a drone to a ground power source allows the system to be in the air for periods far beyond conventional battery life. SENTINEL really is a game changer, it can be deployed without advanced pilot skills and has the potential for secure communications and overcoming blackspots. Additionally, SENTINEL can take your sensors to greater heights than a standard temporary mast system can ever achieve.”

Steatite’s Business Development Manager, Seb Leaver, added “The combination of Drone Evolution’s SENTINEL system and the MPU5 Radio System provides a solution to a challenge that our clients have had for a long time – namely how to get a comms rebroadcast system to a height quickly and easily for a range of deployment types at a price that doesn’t make to prohibitive.”

See Drone Evolution’s SENTINEL on Steatite’s stand H2-417.

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Microdrones Offers The First Complete NDAA-Compliant LiDAR Drone Surveying System

Tuesday, September 12th, 2023

EasyOneLiDAR NDAA is An Ideal System For DOT, Government, and Data Security Sensitive Requirements

September 6, 2023

Las Vegas, NV- Long a popular event to announce the latest developments in drone surveying technology, the bustling Commercial UAV Expo provided the perfect forum to present forthcoming equipment from Microdrones. Vivien Heriard Dubreuil, CEO of mdGroup (parent company of Microdrones) explained “EasyOneLiDAR NDAA provides all of the convenience, ease of use, small form factor and accuracy of our EasyOne system, but this version is NDAA compliant, including the LiDAR and imaging payload.”

Vincent Legrand, VP of Sales for Microdrones added, “When we launched our EasyOne system earlier this year, we saw some big interest from public enterprises, but they needed full NDAA-compliance. That’s why we are so pleased to announce EasyOneLiDAR NDAA. It’s the first complete solution of its kind to hit the market with NDAA-compliance.”

To achieve NDAA-compliance, the Microdrones team developed a new ground control system and LiDAR payload.

Pictured above: EasyOneLiDAR NDAA is integrated with a new ground control system.

EasyOneLiDAR NDAA features a new LiDAR sensor with 128 channels and Triple 1’’ cameras with mechanical shutters, providing RGB 60 MP combined resolution.

Pictured above: EasyOneLiDAR NDAA features a new LiDAR sensor with 128 channels and Triple 1’’ cameras with mechanical shutters, providing RGB 60 MP combined resolution.

Legrand concluded, “We are taking pre orders now, for delivery in October; interest has been high and we anticipate strong ordering activity in Q4 for this system. There is some pent up demand for something like this in the market.”

To learn more about Microdrones, visit www.microdrones.com.

To learn more about GeoCue, visit www.geocue.com.

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