Helo drone maker unveils new electric aircraft for maritime, covert missions

Sur le même sujet

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  21 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

  Pegasus Imagery: Imagining a smarter future

  by Tania Moffat Initially created to provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance solutions for the military, drone technology has had difficulty transitioning to commercial use. Military drones are not well-suited to interact with civilian aircraft and consumer models do not have the necessary range or technology. Alberta-based Pegasus Imagery believes it has bridged the technology gap between military and consumer applications. The company provides real-time intelligence and data solutions at scale to the emergency management, public safety and energy sectors. Owner Cole Rosentreter became an entrepreneur after a parachuting accident cut his decorated 15-year military service short. A paratrooper with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) he actively served on several deployments, including three in Afghanistan. During his tours, he witnessed how drone technology was able to help soldiers work safer, smarter and more effectively. “It was a natural choice to make my next mission to support the guys on the front lines here at home,” he said. Bridging the tech gap Hyperion, the company's long-range drone, was designed to deliver continual airspace awareness during flight and to deliver these solutions at scale. It is based on two prototypes used in commercial contracts earlier this year for the Alberta government, law enforcement, conservation and the energy sector. The aircraft is capable of carrying multiple sensors on a single flight, including connected voice and data comms. In addition to its ability to supply thermal imaging and aerial mapping, it is equipped with military-grade sensors and communications equipment, able to capture and deliver real-time electro-optical and infrared video through a secure connection. “We build our own drones to meet the needs of the market. All of our aircraft are manufactured in Canada and use only components and technology developed in North America,” said Rosentreter, explaining the company's commitment to information security. The first of these drones are already in the manufacturing stage of development. Timing is everything Transport Canada's June 2019 release of its remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) regulations were serendipitous for the company and provided a road map for the integration of drones into the national airspace system. Pegasus Imagery has identified benchmarks and critical areas of interest that it needs to be able to fly beyond visual line of sight (BLVOS) in Canada. This ability is required for the pilots to collect data at scale. Pegasus holds a unique special flight operations certificate from Transport Canada authorizing operations up to 2,000 ft in all restricted airspace across Canada. Pegasus is also working with Transport Canada and early adopters on BVLOS trials in uncontrolled airspace starting in 2020. Since relocating to the Edmonton International Airport last March, the airport authority has become a close partner, helping the company to transition from aircraft development into the trials and beyond. Partnering with commercial aviation The Helicopter Association of Canada expects to see a net loss of 7,000 pilots by 2035. With personnel shortages looming, drones can free up pilots to work where they are most needed. “We are not here to replace jobs; we are here to make jobs more efficient for the people doing them. It's about playing to everyone's strengths. We excel at persistent monitoring and information sharing that enables manned aviation to fly more. “For example, in a wildfire situation, drones can gather data 24 hours a day from above the fire and not put pilots in danger. Very few aircraft fly at night near a wildfire, and the night shift is a natural place to start filling that information void. We're going to see this transition to daytime use as well. By flying a few thousand feet higher than the helicopters, bird dogs, and waterbombers, the real-time information provided allows those pilots to respond where they are needed most,” explained Rosentreter. Drones are also well suited to detecting fires over large areas of land within minutes. “When you look at the root cause of wildfires, you see that from the time a fire starts to when it is detected can be anywhere from minutes to days,” Rosentreter continued. Alberta has 127 lookout towers for fire detection, it is a massive infrastructure and personnel investment. Officers look for smoke on the horizon, but often by the time a fire is big enough to do that, it is too large to be put out by a single helicopter team. The length of time between fire detection and the point where it can no longer be actively engaged and suppressed can be very short. “Unmanned aircraft can operate 24-7 at scale to detect a fire in minutes allowing for the immediate deployment of the best resources,” he further explained. Additionally, after a fire, drones are also able to offer 3D mapping of the affected areas to assist with recovery methods. Rosentreter is passionate about the service Pegasus Imagery is providing. “First responders have the mission of keeping our communities, environment and economy safe here at home. We can provide the tools to assist them. Their mission is really our mission.” https://www.skiesmag.com/news/pegasus-imagery-imagining-a-smarter-future

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  12 octobre 2023 | International, C4ISR

  The Army needs a near-term strategy for the 2020s

  The U.S. Army must close the munitions gap, improve the survivability of tanks and strengthen competencies within the electromagnetic spectrum.

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  16 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  UK hits pause on defense review due to coronavirus

  By: Andrew Chuter LONDON — The British government has hit the pause button on its integrated defense review as it pours its efforts into battling the coronavirus crisis, Cabinet Office officials have told the parliamentary Defence Committee. “The Cabinet Office has informed the defence select committee that work on the integrated review has been formally paused across Whitehall,” the committee announced April 15. Committee chair Tobias Ellwood said in a statement that the move by the Cabinet Office, the department leading the review, was the right move to take given the crisis. “There would be no point in conducting an in-depth review of the nation's defence and security challenges to an artificial deadline, especially at a time when Whitehall is rightly focusing on tackling conronavirus,” Ellwood said. The recently appointed Defence Committee chair said that when the review restarts it will have to do so “with the added consequences of the pandemic to be considered.” A spokesperson for the Defence Committee said the Cabinet Office had not given any indication as to when it might start to ramp up the review effort again. However, two sources tell Defense News that the review could go on ice for up to a year. In a letter announcing the pause, deputy national security adviser Alex Ellis said that while the review was on hold, the government would be retaining a “small core capacity to think about the long-term effects of COVID-19 and issues expected to be covered in the Integrated Review." This team will be very limited in size and function, he added. The Ministry of Defence already faced mounting budget problems before the pandemic struck. Now, the massive economic crisis facing the British government makes it highly unlikely any additional cash will be found for defense, despite the prominent role the military is playing here combating the virus. The review was initiated immediately following Boris Johnson's election as prime minister in early December. Johnson promised it would be the most fundamental review of its kind since the end of the Cold War. Defense, security, foreign policy and international development strategy were to all be part of the effort. The review was scheduled by the government to be completed by July, a timescale the Defence Committee, analysts, lawmakers and others all said was too quick. Johnson first signaled his intention to slow down work on the review in a letter to Ellwood and two other committee chair dated March 24. “We have diverted resources from across Government and the Civil Service to work on COVID-19, scaling back efforts on the Integrated Review,” Johnson said at the time. Quizzed last month by parliamentarians about a possible delay to the review, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the government was open-minded about putting the work on hold. “There is no ideological block or determination to carry on come what may," Wallace said then. “With this coronavirus growing, if it is the right thing to do, we will absolutely pause the review if necessary; if not, we shall move forward.” Jon Louth, an independent defense analyst, believes the government may have to start the review process over again, given the changing circumstances. “I think we are close to going back to square one, if the budget settlement for defense is to be unpicked and secured as part of a late Autumn or Spring [2021] government-wide spending review,” he said. “Who could have any confidence in what the defense equipment program funding settlement would actually be? It could involve unpacking current contracts, but also unpick some of the ambition we have in terms of new things. “What we have and what we would like are going to be colored by a budget settlement smaller than people were anticipating; in fact, quite substantially smaller. Whether that means the MoD starts to think about reprofiling things to the right or really starts taking strategic choices, we will have to wait and see,” added Louth, who until recently was a senior analyst at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/04/15/uk-hits-pause-on-defense-review-due-to-coronavirus/