Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “Volatus Aerospace Inc. has launched its new ‘Surveillance as a Service’ solution, aiming to deliver unparalleled scalability and rapid deployment capabilities. Monitored from Volatus’ state-of-the-art Operations Control Centre (OCC), this flexible, secure and multi-modal surveillance offering empowers clients with faster response times and actionable intelligence.”
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Tag: Aviation
Saab Providing Drone Swarming Capability for Sweden’s Armed Forces
Aviation Week reports, “Sweden’s armed forces have revealed a secret drone swarming program using software developed by Saab. The system, developed over the past year, is designed for sub-25-kg (55.1 lb.) uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). It allows individual soldiers to control as many as 100 drones at a time to gather intelligence, defense officials say.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
FAA Introduces Downwash Caution Area for Vertiports
Aviation Week reports “When the FAA released draft updated engineering guidelines for vertiports in September 2024, it introduced the requirement for a caution area to provide protection from the high wind velocities produced by the propellers of electric air taxis during vertical takeoffs and landings. The introduction of the downwash caution area (DCA) was the result of flight surveys of multiple prototype electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft for the FAA.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Latest Boom Supersonic Test Paves Way for 1st Mach 1 Flight
Aerotime reports Boom Supersonic is “determining whether a 12th test flight of its XB-1 demonstrator is needed before its first attempt at breaking the speed barrier. On January 10, 2025, XB-1 reached speeds of Mach 0.95 during a 44-minute flight over the Mojave Desert with Chief Test Pilot Tristan ‘Geppetto’ Brandenburg at the controls.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Airline Industry Revenue to Reach $1 Trillion in 2025 Per Avolon Report
Aerotime reports, “Dublin-based aircraft leasing company Avolon has published a new market outlook report, predicting that the global airline industry will reach US$1 trillion in revenue for the first time ever during 2025. According to this analysis, the main driver behind this growth is the Asia-Pacific region, which will be adding more capacity than all other regions of the world combined.”
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Aerospace America: U.S. Air Force Electrified Aircraft Program Gets Help From Congress on Tech Transition Goal
ORLANDO, Fla. – Aerospace America reports, “The director of the division that runs the U.S. Air Force program to research emerging electric aircraft, AFWERX Agility Prime, is eager to see one or more of those aircraft designs transitioned into active military service.
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Lockheed Martin Delivers 110 F-35s in 2024
Reuters reports, “Lockheed Martin delivered a total of 110 F-35 fighter jets to the United States and its allies in 2024, the Bethesda, Maryland-based defense contractor said in a statement on Wednesday. The delivery total achieves the higher end of the range of 75 to 110 jet deliveries CEO Jim Taiclet gave in an earnings call last summer.”
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Vertical Performs Piloted Thrustborne eVTOL Flight Test
Aerotime reports, “UK-based electric vehicle takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Vertical Aerospace has become only the second company in the world to perform a piloted thrustborne flight test in a full-scale vectored thrust aircraft. The full-scale eVTOL aircraft, known as VX4, took off on January 7, 2024, with pilot Simon Davies at the controls, at the Vertical Aerospace test center at Cotswold Airport (GBA).”
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Aerospace America: Advanced Air Mobility Founders Show Trust in their Technology
ORLANDO, Fla. – Aerospace America reports, “The ultimate vote of confidence in the design of an electrified aircraft could be when the founder climbs aboard the craft and goes airborne. The leaders of developers of two such aircraft gave personal testimonials here about doing just that.”
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U.S. Marine Corps Still Targeting 2030 to Replace Aging F/A-18 Hornets
Defense One reports, “While Marines wait for new F-35s, officials say recent delivery delays haven’t altered their goal to fully switch to the fifth-generation stealth fighter jet by the end of the decade. The service is replacing its aging F/A-18 Hornets with F-35s, a massive effort complicated by a year-long pause in deliveries of the newest version of the jet. But for that plan to work, Lockheed Martin needs to finish clearing a backlog of deliveries caused by technology-development problems that led the Pentagon to stop accepting the aircraft for a year. In July, Lockheed received the green light to resume deliveries without the full version of the upgrade, dubbed Technology Refresh-3.”
Full Story (Defense One)