The Chinese Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) unveiled at AirshowChina a new jet-powered, long-range UAV called WJ-700. This drone is designed for reconnaissance and attack missions over land and sea. The drone has an endurance of 20 hours. At a maximum takeoff weight of 3,500 kg, it carries weapons and payloads on four underwing […]
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MBDA will provide integration of the Brimstone precision guided strike missile onto the SkyGuardian drone to enhance the capability of RAF Protector GR Mk1 drone to engage a wide range of targets (stationary, fast moving, land and sea) under all weather conditions.
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Boeing has introduced today its newest unmanned platform, the Boeing Airpower Teaming System (ATS), designed to extend airborne missions through smart teaming with existing, manned military aircraft. Designed and built by Boeing Australia, the ATS represents Boeing's largest investment in a new unmanned aircraft program outside the United States. The Australian government allocated $40 million in support of the program and considers to include the new platform as part the RAAF '5th GEN Air Force' modernization under 'Plan Jericho'
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The stealthy Valkyrie is a long-range, high subsonic unmanned air vehicle designed to operate autonomously or in cooperation with manned aircraft as part of the Air Forces' 'Loyal Wingman' concept.
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The Russian drone manufacturer is aggressively marketing the Orion E, a Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial system (UAS). The current export-oriented variant was launched in 2017. Seeking new customers at the LAAD 2019 exhibition in Brazil and LIMA 2019 in Malaysia, the developer, Kronshtadt Group is making the first steps entering a busy and competitive drone market.
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IAI is introducing a new member of the Heron family of Unmanned Aerial Systems, designed for tactical operations. The Tactical Heron or T-Heron is positioned as the successor for the company's Searcher tactical UAS. Flight testing of the new UAS is expected to begin in 2019 and continue through the next year.
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MBDA provided today a fresh vision of future air warfare. A range of future weapons presented by the company at Paris Air Show 2019, to illustrate the weapons that the Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) and Britain’s Tempest would carry by 2030-2040.
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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.
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The Russian Su-70 Okhotnik-B (Hunter) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau, has made its maiden flight on Saturday, August 3rd. 2019. The news released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday, according to Russian Tass news agency. No photos were released at the time of publication. According to a Russian […]
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Israel’s Ministry of Defense Defense Research and Development Directorate (DRDD) provided today a glimpse into the Carmel technology demonstration program, evaluating future combat vehicle technologies for the late 2020 and beyond. Rafael, Elbit Systems and IAI participated in the demonstration showcasing how each group addressed a technology approach to meet the challenge.
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The Royal Air Force has selected Leonardo to support the next stage of their research and development program, exploring the current and future threat posed by hostile drones, and evaluating a range of technologies for counter-drone capability. The three-year program will commence in early 2020. Leonardo counter-drone technology has already seen use with the RAF and is under contract for the Italian Army and Air Force. In 2018 and 2019, following drone sightings at Gatwick and Heathrow airports, elements of Leonardo’s counter-drone technology were deployed by the RAF to allow airport operations to resume.
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On the night of September 14, 2019, several attacks rocked two strategic infrastructure sites in Saudi Arabia. One target was a large oil field at Khurais, recently developed by the Saudi national oil company Aramco. The second is the company’s main processing center and one of the world’s largest oil refineries at Buqayq, 200 km northeast of Khurais.
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General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to demonstrate the Air Force Research Lab’s “Agile Condor” capability using a company-owned MQ-9 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). The testing will determine the optimum artificial intelligence and machine learning methodologies to find, identify and track select targets. Agile Condor also has the potential to dramatically reduce satellite bandwidth requirements as a result of its ability to automatically identify, classify, and nominate targets of interest.
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Boeing and the U.S. Navy successfully completed the first test flight of the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aerial refueler. The MQ-25 will provide the Navy with a much-needed carrier-based unmanned aerial refueling capability. It will allow for better use of the combat strike fighters currently performing the tanking role and will extend the range of the carrier air wing.
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The US Air Force is invests $16 million in further field assessment of Raytheon's Phaser High Power Microwave System outside the continental U.S. The testing phase will span over 12 months in which the Phaser will engage simulated and real unmanned aerial systems threats. The Phaser system developed by Raytheon is designed to combat drone swarms, particularly on attacks such as the recent loitering missiles that struck the Abqaiq oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia.
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Sukhoi and the Russian Ministry of Defense have flown the S-70 Okhotnik unmanned aerial vehicle with Su-57 fifth-generation fighter aircraft for the first time. The flight that laster 30 minutes as part of the ongoing test program. On this flight, Okhotnik flew with a full avionics configuration in an automated mode.
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Dozens of unmanned underwater, surface and air vehicles from NATO countries have gathered in Portugal for two weeks in September, testing new technological advances in unmanned maritime systems networks. To beef up its Port defense capability the Portuguese Navy invited IAI to bring its Drone-Guard C-UAS system that provided unprecedented situational awareness and drone defeat capability during the exercise.
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The Russian Air Force has begun testing the medium-altitude long-range drone Orion Medium Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE) strike-reconnaissance drones.
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Israel’s Ministry of Defense revealed today a major achievement in a high energy laser program undergoing with the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D). Investments in laser technology made by the department have led to the ability to precisely focus laser beams on long-range targets, overcoming atmospheric disturbances.
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IAI has unveiled a new version of its Heron Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drone, designated Heron Heron MK II. Carrying a 470 kg payload weight the maximum takeoff weight has increased to 1,350 kg., while mission endurance remained at 45 hours.
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