May 31, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Sérieusement concurrencée par DJI sur le domaine des drones grand public, la marque française Parrot élargit son horizon. Elle travaille de plus en plus sur des engins destinés aux professionnels et pourrait bientôt décrocher un contrat de grande ampleur.
La firme a en effet été retenue (avec cinq autres sociétés) par le département de la Défense des États-Unis pour un appel d'offres visant à développer et à prototyper une nouvelle génération de drones compacts, de courte portée et dédiée à la surveillance (« Short Range Reconnaissance drone » ou SRR). Il semblerait donc que la méfiance envers les acteurs chinois (majoritaires) du secteur fasse le bonheur des autres.
Henri Seydoux, président et PDG de Parrot, a réagit à l'annonce de la sélection :
« Parrot est fier d'avoir été sélectionné par l'U.S. Army pour travailler sur ce projet hautement stratégique [...] Nous comprenons parfaitement combien un drone ultra-compact, à l'instar de la plateforme de drone ANAFI, possède les atouts pour devenir un élément central de la défense. Nous sommes impatients de mettre à profit l'excellence de notre R&D pour répondre aux plus hautes exigences de l'U.S. Army afin d'intégrer l'efficacité offerte par les drones dans leurs opérations et d'accompagner la plus importante force armée et de défense au monde. »
Ledit programme a en effet alloué 11 millions de dollars de dollars à ces six acteurs afin qu'il puisse rapidement mettre au point un drone capable d'être déployé rapidement sur le terrain par les soldats. Il permettra ainsi de disposer d'un meilleur champ de vision et d'une « compréhension immédiate et élargie » de l'environnement dans lequel ils évoluent.
Évidemment, l'armée a défini plusieurs objectifs que l'appareil doit remplir pour être sélectionné. Il devra notamment bénéficier d'un temps de vol de 30 minutes et d'une portée allant jusqu'à 3 kilomètres. Son poids ne pourra excéder 1,3 kg/ Il faudra qu'il soit opérationnel en moins de 2 minutes et doit pouvoir être transporté dans les sacs à dos standards utilisés par les soldats. Rien qui ne paraisse impossible à réaliser pour la firme, qui joue très gros sur ce marché.
October 25, 2023 | International, Land
Ukraine aims to produce tens of thousands of drones every month by year-end as it ramps up its defence industry output despite the challenge posed by Russian attacks, the minister for strategic industries said on Wednesday.
October 1, 2018 | International, Aerospace
By Oriana Pawlyk The U.S. Air Force will soon need to make a decision on whether or not its plan to grow to 386 operational squadrons should focus on procuring top-of-the-line equipment and aircraft, or stretching the legs of some of its oldest warplanes even longer, experts say. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson announced in September that the service wants at least 74 additional squadrons over the next decade. What service brass don't yet know is what could fill those squadrons. Full article: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/09/30/new-or-used-air-forces-two-tricky-paths-386-operational-squadrons.html
February 15, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Albuquerque, New Mexico (February 12, 2020): Silent Falcon UAS Technologies (SFUAS) is excited to announce new options for it solar-powered, electric driven Silent Falcon E1 sUAS aircraft. The new customer selectable options allow the drone to: Extend flight time 10+ hours Select launch and recovery options o Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) o Conventional o Catapult launch with parachute recovery BVLOS beyond 100 km Grant Bishop, SFUAS CEO, said of the new options “Our customers have different missions and CONOPS, and our 20lb payload capacity allows our platform to meet those unique missions and CONOPS easily. The E1 is simple to operate and the new suite of options expands the mission capability for our customers. Need multiple sensors? More range? Operate in a confined space? As one customer likes to say, ‘PPMC-Plug and Play Mission Capability.'” Bishop added, “Our new options allow the E1 to have Sensors on time, On target anywhere in the world. The E1 is the ‘go to' sUAS aircraft for ISR: easy to operate, affordable, rugged, and adaptable.” Don't have a flight department? SFUAS provides global full service ISR and analysis with our E1 fleet. Recently several cities have turned to manned aircraft surveillance for security as reported by CBS “60 minutes.” A much better alternative is Silent Falcon ISR services. We provide better coverage and lower costs. SFUAS ISR Services can fly longer with more coverage and a live feed to multiple users on the ground with no gas, no noise, and zero carbon emissions. It's a better choice for cities that want safety, clean air and no fuel costs. The SFUAS ISR Services team recently provided 24/7 security for the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), helping them maintain safety and security during the Port of Spain Carnival, a massive multi day celebration. Over four days, Silent Falcon assisted the TTPS in: identifying and pinpointing criminal activity, traffic management, crowd control, and managing and directing police assets. The long-endurance and long-range were key for this mission as Silent Falcon was able to provide continuous information and city-wide situational awareness to TTPS operational command center. This allowed the TTPS to have enhanced visibility and access to otherwise hard to capture situations. All SFUAS equipment and parts are designed and built in Albuquerque, New Mexico with NO Chinese content. The full line of SFUAS products, services, and support is available via GSA Contract No. GS07F248BA. SFUAS provides full service to customers, including operators for the aircraft and a full turnkey collection of data analysis, report, and storage services. From a smooth flight to an easily readable data report, customers will find the effectiveness of the aircraft options paired with the professionalism of the SFUAS staff to be ideal for any UAS requirements. ABOUT Silent Falcon™ UAS TECHNOLOGIES Silent Falcon UAS Technologies manufactures patent pending, state-of-the-art small Unmanned Aircraft Systems and components and sensors for the security, military and commercial markets including oil and gas and pipeline inspections, power utility inspections, large scale agriculture, natural resource management, security/ISR, public safety, and mapping/surveying. Silent Falcon is the only solar electric UAS to provide long endurance and range, silent operations, and an open interface payload bay accommodating a wide- variety of payloads that are also quick and easy to change. The company is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico. https://www.suasnews.com/2020/02/silent-falcon-uas-technologies-offer-mission-selectable-capabilities-to-solar-electric-suas-aircraft/