May 5, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Waking up to the use of drones in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the ministry of civil aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have launched the GARUD portal. The platform will provide fast track exemptions to government agencies for using drones in their operations against the pandemic.
GARUD or ‘Government Authorisation for Relief Using Drones' was developed by the National Informatics Centre in eight days.
Providing exemptions to government agencies by changing Rule 160 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, for easy and fast approvals for drone usage, any government department can apply for these exemptions on the GARUD platform.
However, the government has also put restrictions on these exemptions. For instance, the government will provide permission to only battery-operated drones or remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs). Permission won't be granted to autonomous and fixed-wing RPAs.
The order also makes the organisation responsible for ensuring safe operations of RPAs. Operations involving RPAs are to be conducted under the supervision of authorised entity while not risking lives, property, or any other aircraft.
Moreover, the government has allowed all the government agencies to use either their own drones or use ones offered by third-party providers which are mostly startups.
According to the rules, all the drones should have a valid unique identification number (UIN) or drone acknowledgement number (DAN) issued by the DGCA. The agency using the RPAs will have to update the details of the drone on DGCA's Digital Sky platform.
Moreover, the drones shouldn't be weighing more than 25 KG and cannot pick up, drop or spray any substance. This provision leaves authorities to use these drones for surveillance. Other restrictions include no flight before sunrise and after sunset. The government also imposed a height limit of up to 200 metres for the drones.
Besides surveillance, many drone startups in India are also looking to support the delivery of essentials. They are also being used to back on-ground medical staff. Pune and Silicon Valley-based FlytBase is offering drone services free to government officials until May 2020.
Moreover, Hyderabad-based Marut Drones is delivering medicines and collecting blood samples. It has also been deployed to spray sanitizer in the city. Recently, the DGCA also allowed hyperlocal delivery provider Dunzo and Bengaluru-based drone maker Throttle Aerospace Systems to test their long-range drone delivery solutions. These startups are also expected to deliver grocery via drones in the near future.
https://inc42.com/buzz/drones-cleared-for-take-off-as-govt-launches-garud-portal-to-simplify-norms/
November 15, 2023 | International, Land
The Director-General of the Ministry of Defense, Major General Eyal Zamir, signed the contract for the sale of the ‘David’s Sling’ air defense system to Finland for approximately 1.3 billion...
February 12, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Steve Trimble As the U.S. Defense Department accelerates hypersonic weapons fielding, the air force's top commander in the Pacific region emphasizes that the missile isn't the only technology required to realize an operational capability to strike targets at speeds faster than Mach 5. The air force plans to achieve an early operational capability in fiscal 2022 with the Lockheed Martin AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, a maneuvering boost glide missile fired from the wing of an aircraft, such as a Boeing B-52. Such weapons are capable of hitting targets at ranges over 1,000 km within 10 min., but similarly new advances in intelligence-gathering and command and control infrastructure are required in order to make full use of them, said Gen. Charles Brown, commander of Pacific Air Forces. “In the time of flight, eight to 10 minutes, I've got to have pretty good intel that the target is still going to be there, particularly if it's a mobile target,” Brown said. “Those are things I'm thinking about. It's nice to have this weapon, but I've got to have the whole thing.” The Defense Department also is working on other long-range-missile technologies. In August, Russia and the U.S. governments withdrew from the 32-year-old Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, allowing both countries to follow China's lead in fielding ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of between 500 km and 5,000 km. Since August, the DOD has demonstrated a rudimentary ground-launched cruise missile and ballistic missile in flight, but a fielding decision is still pending a policy decision by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). Brown could offer no update on the status of the policy decision. “That may be a logical conclusion, but I'd refer you to OSD on where their approach is and where the department might land as far as where we're going in the future,” Brown said. https://aviationweek.com/shownews/singapore-airshow/ready-fire-aim-pacaf-chief-emphasizes-hypersonics
October 18, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
ARMY AECOM + Tetra Tech JV, Boston, Massachusetts (W912DY-20-D-0013); Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp., Overland Park, Kansas (W912DY-20-D-0012); and Jacobs Government Services Co., Arlington, Colorado (W912DY-20-D-0014), will compete for each order of the $149,969,200 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract for architect and design services. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 16, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity. South Dade Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Inc.,* Plantersville, Alabama, was awarded a $11,600,230 firm-fixed-price contract for mechanical maintenance services. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Vicksburg, Mississippi, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance; and civil works funds in the amount of $11,600,230 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi, is the contracting activity (W912HZ-20-C-0002). NAVY Raytheon Co., McKinney, Texas, is awarded a $17,897,746 cost-plus-incentive-fee order (N00019-20-F-0277) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0003). This order procures Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared special test equipment updates to the Windows 10 operating system in support of the F/A-18E/F aircraft. Work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be completed in February 2022. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $17,897,746 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services, Rockville, Maryland, is awarded a $7,930,867 modification (P00050) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N00421-15-C-0008. This modification exercises an option to provide engineering and technical services for integrated communications and information systems radio communications to Navy ships in support of the Ship and Air Integration Warfare Division, Naval Air Warfare Center – Webster Outlying Field. Work will be performed in Saint Inigoes, Maryland (60%); California, Maryland (30%); Bath, Maine (5%); and Pascagoula, Mississippi (5%), and is expected to be completed in October 2020. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,300,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Pride Industries, Roseville, California, has been awarded a $15,246,093 modification (P00059) to previously awarded contract FA2816-17-C-0001 for civil engineering services. The modification provides for operations and maintenance, engineering, environmental, and grounds maintenance for 61st Civil Engineer and Logistics Squadron. Work will be performed at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California; Fort MacArthur, California; and Defense Contract Management Agency, Carson, California, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2020. The total cumulative face value of the contract to $61,308,694. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,646,783 are being obligated at the time of award. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY National Industries for the Blind, Alexandria, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $8,562,960 modification (P00005) exercising the first one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-19-D-B043) with four one-year option periods for moisture wicking T-shirts. This is an indefinite-delivery contract. Locations of performance are Virginia, North Carolina and Arkansas, with an Oct. 30, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1991710/source/GovDelivery/