General Atomics, San Diego, California, has been awarded a $22,164,736 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) – Track A program. Continue reading
Category Archives: Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
UK Consortium to Deliver Green Passenger Airline Using Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology
Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) – the UK SME leading the Project Fresson consortium – announces it will exploit recent advances in hydrogen fuel cell technology to develop a commercially viable, retrofit powertrain solution for the nine-passenger Britten-Norman Islander aircraft. Continue reading
Insitu Advances its Fuel Cell Technology
Insitu engineers worked with researchers from Washington State University and Protium to conduct successful testing of a hydrogen supply tank in July of 2020. The event marked one of the company’s many recent efforts to advance fuel cell technology for unmanned platforms.
Insitu, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company, has announced new details about its latest efforts to advance hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Continue reading
WiBotic Receives CE Marks for Robot Wireless Charging Systems
Drone Outfitted with WiBotic’s OC-251 Onboard Charger, Sitting Atop a WiBotic PowerPad (TR-301 Transmitter in an Enclosure)
WiBotic, a supplier of advanced autonomous charging and fleet energy management solutions for the rapidly expanding ecosystem of aerial, mobile, marine, and industrial robots, announced that it has received CE Mark approval for two of its wireless charging systems. Continue reading
Aero Development Japan Succeeds Operation Test of Hybrid Power Unit for Long-Distance Drones
Aero Development Japan Co., Ltd. is developing a Halbach generator and gas turbine power for heavy and long-distance drones. The company has succeeded in the operation test of the combined hybrid power unit. Continue reading
Orbital UAV Signs New Contract with Textron / Lycoming
Aerosonde HQ at the US Army’s FTUAS Rodeo in February 2021
Orbital Corporation Ltd announced that it has signed a new engine development and supply agreement with Textron subsidiary, Lycoming Engines. The new agreement includes a 12-month engine development program, which will enable the integration of an Orbital UAV-designed core engine, including proprietary fuel and engine control systems, into Textron Systems’ Aerosonde program. Continue reading
Drone Propellers to Get Quieter
The anechoic, or ‘echo-free’, test chamber at CSIRO
Researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia have published a study revealing their successful approach to designing much quieter propellers.
Rolls-Royce to Power Vertical Aerospace’s eVTOL
Rolls-Royce’s ground-breaking technology is set to power Vertical Aerospace’s flagship Urban Air Mobility (UAM) aircraft. A Rolls-Royce electrical power system will be integrated into the piloted all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle, which will carry up to four passengers for 120 miles at cruise speeds of over 200mph and is on course to certify in 2024. Continue reading