Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “Kraus Hamdani Aerospace’s fully electric, long-endurance K1000ULE UAS has been added to the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit Blue UAS Cleared and Select Lists, confirming it as a trusted, secure, NDAA-compliant drone ready for immediate procurement.”
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K1000ULE VTOL Landing
(Stefan Kraus; YouTube)
Aerotime reports, “NASA says the futuristic-looking X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft is closing in on its first flight, with engineers conducting final checks of safety systems as the program moves from ground testing toward the all-important flight-test phase.”
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Unmanned Systems Technology reports GA-ASI and AeroVironment completed a milestone test by launching a Switchblade 600 from an MQ-9A, demonstrating “large UAS capability as motherships.”
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Aerotime reports, “The Jetson One, a single-seat electric quadcopter, has been delivered to Oculus and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey in California, marking the company’s first customer handover and a milestone in personal aviation.”
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Jetson ONE
Jetson; YouTube
Aerospace Testing International reports, “Beta’s Alia electric aircraft flew a route between Stavanger and Bergen in Norway for the first time last week – the start of several months of flight tests looking to build knowledge about operating battery-electric aircraft before they are commercialised.” The three-phase flight campaign is expected to run until January 2026.
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Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “Parallel Flight Technologies has received a $3.74 million ONR Sequential Phase II SBIR contract to adapt its Firefly hybrid-powered heavy-lift UAS for maritime operations, enhancing naval logistics, surveillance, and research missions.”
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Firefly hybrid-powered heavy-lift UAS.
Parallel Flight Technologies; YouTube
Aviation Week reports, “The prospect of flying premium passengers direct to airport terminals in clean, quiet electric air taxis has moved a step closer, but significant progress must still be made if it is to become a reality. In early August, Joby Aviation agreed to acquire the passenger business of urban helicopter service provider Blade Air Mobility.”
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FlightGlobal reports the first airframe for the US Navy’s new E-130J Phoenix II strategic airborne command post “has rolled off the production line,” marking a milestone in “the $3.5 billion TACAMO modernisation … programme.”
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Defense News reports, “The Air Force and aerospace firm Sierra Nevada Corp. have started flight tests on the service’s next-generation ‘doomsday plane.’ Flight tests for the E-4C Survivable Airborne Operations Control, or SAOC, are being held at the Aviation Innovation and Technology Center in Dayton, Ohio, the company said in a Wednesday release.”
Full Story (Defense News)