Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAV/UAS)

Pakistani sources claimed an unidentified, bird shaped UAV suspected to be an American surveillance drone, crashed in southwestern Pakistan on 25 August at the town of Chaman near the Afghan border.

Elbit Systems is showing the Hermes with a full range of sensors, including the AMPS, a heavy, high resolution EO payload providing Highly detailed...

Military robotics expert Roboteam is developing a hybrid air/ground drone robot system called ROOSTER, that mimics the flying of a male chicken. Its capability to fly over a short distance enables the Rooster to get around obstacles and reach vantage positions, like moving from a street to a rooftop in a short time.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), introduced today an 'Autonomous Collaborative Platform' (ACP) called Gambit. “Gambit will usher in a new era, where UAS work collaboratively with manned aircraft to detect, identify and target adversaries at range and scale across the battlespace.” GA-ASI President David R. Alexander said.

A new Russian UAV is designed with an air cushion that enables operation from rough surfaces. The drone called 'Chirok' (Teal) will be able to operate from uneven surfaces, scattered with stones and obstacles (up to 20cm high), as well as soft sand, high grass, snow-covered or wetland terrain, as well as water surfaces.

AeroVironment announced today the receipt of a contract for its new Switchblade 600 loitering missile. The order was received from the Special Operations Command. The allocates $26 million for the delivery of weapons and their integration of the new weapon on specialized maritime platforms operated by US Special Operations Forces. Completion is expected by the end of 2022.

Although Loitering Munitions (LM) have been introduced decades ago, these weapons have gained general acceptance and maturity in recent years, following their operational debut in battlefields in the Caucasus and the Middle East. While several manufacturers already offer various types of ‘suicide drones’, only a few are committed to this category as Israel’s UVision Air, the developer, and producer of the Hero line of loitering missiles that unveiled a range of new members of its Hero family of LMs this week at the recent Paris Air Show. Uvision has already sold Hero LMs to multiple customers, including the Israel Defense Forces, and leading NATO countries.

Airbus Defence and Space has launched a High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) program developing a commercial variant of the world record setting Zephyr 7...

United Nations peacekeepers in Africa are expanding the use of drones to improve force protection and better secure the civilian communities in conflict areas. The UN is expected to select a supplier for a larger MALE drone to succeed the Falco UAVs operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2013. Such drones will soon launch operations from two bases in Mali, in support of UN operations in the Sahara.

Seoul plans to spend 40 billion won (US$36.5 million) buying three Heron I MALE drones from Israel. The drones will support the frontline corps along the northwestern border with North Korea

IAI announced today it has signed two deals to supply Heron MK II UAV Systems to an Asian Country. The deals represent the first known orders for the Heron MK II system since it was announced 12 months ago.

Award of $4.3 million increase the Switchblade funded contract value to $63.8 million

Elbit Systems unveiled today an advanced capability that has been operational for several years with the military forces of several nations, in homeland security and the war on terror. Using a single payload integrating multiple cameras that together provides an image built from billion pixels, SkEye enables users to simultaneously look, and zoom in or out into 10 Regions of Interest (ROI), using different viewing angles. At any time they can ‘look back in time’ to analyze how a situation unfolds.

The Tekever Group is introducing a new, lightweight shipborne UAV - the AR3 NET-RAY, a small drone with an empty weight of 14 kg, designed to carry 8 Kg payload. The new version of AR3 NET-RAY increases its payload capacity by 33%, with the main purpose of providing customers with the option to carry a radar with effective range of 25 nm.