Tag Archive for: unmanned

BlueHalo Secures DOD Contract for Titan Unmanned Aerial Systems; CEO Jonathan Moneymaker Quoted


A division of defense and aerospace contractor BlueHalo has secured a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense for a delivery of the company’s unmanned aerial systems.

As a result of the $24 million contract, BlueHalo Titan Defense will provide its Titan Counter-Unmanned Aerial System product, which is designed using artificial intelligence, machine learning and radio frequency, the Arlington, Virginia-based company said Tuesday.

Jonathan Moneymaker, CEO of BlueHalo and a 2022 Wash100 Award, explained that Titan works by utilizing the aforementioned technologies to hone in on threats and maintain thresholds of safety for warfighters.

Moneymaker cited Titan as a “force multiplier” for military personnel and said it is intended to prevent casualties on the battlefield and will help the DOD meet objectives.

The award also comes on the heels of the DOD’s recognition of the Titan platform as a Program of Record technology, after more than five years of proven effectiveness in combat and domestic usages.

Titan’s products will be employed for pre-deployment processes, mobile security, fixed site protection and dismounted operations by a confidential government agency through the new DOD contract. The line of autonomous systems have been contracted in the past by the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, U.S. Special Operations Forces and various federal departments.

In May, BlueHalo filled a $4 million order for Titan C-AUS kits from the Army.

The changing face of warfare: why Nato needs to talk about unmanned combat drones


The advancement of unmanned combat drones in several leading nations must be addressed by Nato, senior academics and defence analysts have said.

Alliance chiefs meet on Monday when the growing menace of armed drones programmed with artificial intelligence may not feature high on the agenda, but cannot be ignored for much longer.

Countries such as Turkey, Russia, Britain, China and the US are developing advanced unmanned aircraft that can select humans or fixed military targets and launch missiles without a living being’s command. That creates moral, legal and strategic questions.

Although the communique is likely to welcome Washington’s re-engagement and condemn Nato’s adversaries, defence experts told The National the drone issue needs to be discussed.

Joe Biden, while serving as US vice president, speaks to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. Getty Images
Joe Biden, while serving as US vice president, speaks to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. Getty Images

“Autonomous armed drones are absolutely something that Nato can’t ignore any more,” Dr Julie Norman of University College London said. “From what we’ve heard it’s something that’s going to be a part of the conversation. Leaders are looking at the Nato 2030 initiative with a view to the new technological changes and threats.”

Putin will very much want to see what’s going on behind Biden’s eyes

Dr Alan Mendoza

The ease with which Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aircraft took out Syrian tanks and Armenian armour last year was an “eye-popping” evolution on the battlefield, defence expert Prof Michael Clarke told The National. “Armed drones are a serious issue and their success has done Turkey’s military reputation no end of good. But it has also started to change the balance of thinking about ground forces in Europe.”

One problem is that not all Nato partners favour the autonomous killing machines and Germany in particular has taken a hard line. Jack Watling, of the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said the Germans were “locking themselves out” of a system that could take out enemy radars and missiles.

“But for how long the Germans can hold their…

Source…

Crop-dusting unmanned helicopter gets cleared for commercial flight

An unmanned helicopter that has been used for cropdusting in Japan for over 20 years has gotten clearance for test use in the US from the Federal Aviation Administration. Yamaha’s RMAX is now free to be flown over farms across America under a “Section 333” exemption to FAA regulations governing commercial use of unmanned aircraft.

The RMAX is not a drone, at least in the sense that many think of them—it’s a giant remote control helicopter controlled by a pilot within line of sight, weighing 141 pounds and capable of carrying 61 pounds of liquid spray or granules for crop dusting. The radio-controlled craft is powered by a 21-horsepower two-stroke engine—essentially a riding lawnmower engine.

The RMAX recently gained approval for use in Australia by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), and is also flown for agricultural purposes in South Korea. Overall, RMAX aircraft have logged over 2 million flight hours, and are responsible for spraying about 40 percent of Japan’s rice crop today—so this is hardly an experimental aircraft. The University of California, Davis has been conducting experiments with the RMAX to determine its usefulness in crop-dusting vineyards on terrain not normally suited to traditional crop-dusting operations since 2013.

Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments


Ars Technica » Technology Lab