The longest drone corridor in the world could be built in the U.K., linking multiple cities across the country and representing the most ambitious British transport project since the railway network in the 18th century.
American Robotics CEO Reese Mozer has no beef with drone deliveries, but he thinks all the hoopla surrounding aerial transport of burgers and burritos is drowning out news about farther-reaching UAV activities that are dramatically changing the way businesses operate. He tells DroneDJ about that transformative innovation, and how American Robotics’s (AR) leading role in the complete automation of critical drone services to industry is set to take wing.
Nevertheless, Mozer adds, that action manages to generate sufficient media and public excitement to divert attention from the more complex, vital, and – in total financial terms – valuable surveying and inspection services drone automation provides heavy industry, energy, railroad, and infrastructure operators. And that’s precisely the UAV sector activity he predicts will begin taking off and turning heads this year.
The six-foot drone is made by by ZALA Aero, a subsidiary of famed Russian arms manufacturer Kalashnikov. After being fired from a portable launcher the KUB-BLA can loiter over a target area for up to half an hour, flying at speeds of around 80mph.
Once it has recognised a suitable target it deliberately crashes into it, detonating its seven-pound high explosive payload.
Mikhail Kokorich is the founder of Destinus. This serial entrepreneur has been dubbed Russia’s Elon Musk by his public relations team. The Russian businessman says his business, Destinus, is developing a hydrogen-powered, zero-emissions transcontinental delivery drone that can travel at speeds up to Mach 15.
Destinus plans to combine the technological advancements from a spaceplane with the ordinary and straightforward physics from a glider to create a hyperplane that will meet the many demands of a hyper-connected world.
The first Australian-produced military combat aircraft in over half a century.
Boeing’s Loyal Wingman is now officially the “MQ-28A Ghost Bat.” The new military designator and name that will be used by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) for the autonomous combat drone was announced during a ceremony at the Amberley Royal Australian Air Force Base in Queensland today.
Giving the Loyal Wingman an official name may seem trivial, but it represents two major steps for the program. Being named after a native Australian bat, it acknowledges the first Australian-produced military combat aircraft in over half a century, and it also shows that the drone is moving out of the experimental phase and into a path for full deployment with the RAAF and sales to international customers.
· They have on-board video cameras and colour sensors to aid with guidance.
· They are essentially camera-equipped, remote-controlled flying bombs that can be directed by an operator to find a target then, when ready, plunge on to it. They explode on contact, hence the “kamikaze” nickname.
Switchblades extend the range of attack on Russian vehicles and units to beyond the sight of the user. That gives them an advantage over the guided heat-seeking missiles the Ukrainians have used against Russian tanks.