March 9, 2021 | International, Naval
Service Contracts for Stand-by Oil Spill Recovery Vessels The Agency provides additional response capacity to that of the pollution response mechanisms of EU M ...
April 24, 2024 | International, Land
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has committed to the increase of defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030, up from around 2.3% at present.
March 26, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Kelsey D. Atherton Designing a drone body is about settling on the right compromise. Multirotor drones excel at vertical lift and hover, while fixed wing drones are great at both distance and wide-open spaces. In February, Auterion announced a two-pronged approach to the rotor- or fixed-wing drone market, with a pair of drones that use the same sensor packages and fuselage to operate as either the Scorpion Trirotor or the Vector fixed wing craft. “As we started to develop our tactical UAS Platform, our plan was only to develop a VTOL fixed wing solution (like our Vector),” said Dave Sharpin, CEO of Auterion Government Solutions. “During the development process we decided to build a Tri-Copter Platform as well, as a result of many discussions with law enforcement agencies and Search and Rescue Units.” Adapting the fixed-wing fuselage to the tri-copter attachments means the drone can now operate in narrow spaces and harsh conditions. Scorpion, with the rotors, can fly for about 45 minutes, with a cruising speed of zero to 33 mph. Put the fixed wings back on for Vector, and the flight time is now two hours, with a cruising speed of 33 to 44 mph. The parts snap into place without any need for special tooling, and Auterion recommends the drone for missions in rain or snow. Both platforms share a gimbal EO/IR with 10x optical zoom, 720p EO video, 480p IR video, laser illuminator, IR laser ranger. Common between modes is also a tactical mapping tool using a 21 megapixel Sony UMC R10C camera. For the scorpion, there's also the option of a gimbaled electro-optical camera with a 30x optical zoom. Both drones are designed to fit in rucksacks that a person can carry one at a time. While many features are common across Vector and Scorpion, the plan is not to include both rotors or wings in the same kit. Once a team packs into the field with a drone on its back, that's the mode the drone can be used in. Auterion intends to ship the drones by the fourth quarter of 2020, with preorders available. Designing a drone body is about settling on the right compromise. Vectr and Scorpion are built on top of open source code. This includes an operating system capable of programmable autopilot , as well as machine-vision collision prevention and obstacle detection and avoidance. Software for the ground station and cloud data management of the drone are also built on open source code. The Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit awarded the company a $2 million contract last year to work on the PX4 software to help drive compatibility standards in the drone industry. As militaries across the world look to the enterprise sector for capable drones at smaller profile than existing military models, transparency in code and flexibility in airframe could become more widely adopted trends. In the meantime, there is Vector, and there is Scorpion. https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2020/03/25/open-source-platforms-flexible-airframes-for-new-drones
April 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Saab has delivered its first GlobalEye early-warning plane to the United Arab Emirates, the company announced Wednesday. The aircraft arrived in Dubai during the late morning of April 29 following a brief stopover in Bulgaria on its way from Sweden, Saab CEO Micael Johansson said during a call with reporters. The delivery caps four and a half years of work since the UAE and Saab signed a contract for three of the planes — modified Bombardier 6000 business jets equipped with Saab's Erieye long-range radar and other surveillance sensors. Saab is advertising GlobalEye as able to provide ground, air and maritime surveillance in a single package. “The delivery of the first GlobalEye is a major milestone for Saab, but also an important step in the history of airborne early warning and control,” Johansson said. “We have set a new standard for the market, and I am proud to say that we have delivered the most advanced airborne surveillance solution in the world to the United Arab Emirates.” The company, which has been spared from work stoppages in Sweden caused elsewhere by the coronavirus pandemic, had to take “a number of mitigating actions” to prevent the virus from spreading during the actual handover and during the weeks leading up to it, Johansson said. The measures included testing workers for the virus, quarantining them if warranted and retesting them afterward, according to Johansson. Saab is still working to produce the additional two aircraft owed under the 2015 contract. Those would be delivered “rather shortly,” the executive told reporters, declining to be more specific. The company is eyeing the potential sale of yet two more GlobalEye aircraft to the UAE. Such an option is included in the original deal, though details have yet to be finalized. Johansson cited Finland and South Korea as countries also interested in the GlobalEye technology. If Saab manages to drum up additional customers, future offerings are slated to include the Global 6500 jet as carriers, he said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/04/29/saab-delivers-first-global-eye-early-warning-plane-to-uae