SolAero Technologies Corp (SolAero) announced the completion and delivery of the first solar wing for Bye Aerospace‘s “StratoAirNet”, a solar-electric unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Continue reading
Category Archives: Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
US Air Force Lab Tests High-Efficiency Engine for UAS
The US Air Force Research Laboratory Advanced Power Technology Office, along with Engineered Propulsion Systems and the Arnold Engineering and Development Center, recently concluded ground-based testing of an advanced diesel engine that promises to increase the utility and ease the logistics burden of military aircraft missions. Continue reading
China to Use CH-T4 Solar Drone as ‘Quasi-Satellite’ and Wi-Fi Hub
China is developing an airborne mobile Wi-Fi hub in near space with solar-powered drones. The Feiyun (“Flying Cloud”) project is able to secure emergency communication for more than one week and proof of concept is expected to be demonstrated before the end of year. Continue reading
Airbus Flight Tests Jet-Powered Sagitta in South Africa
Airbus Defence and Space has successfully tested a new type of aircraft that will aid the development of future unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for series production. The unmanned jet-propelled demonstrator with the project name SAGITTA flew completely autonomously for around seven minutes over Denel’s Overberg Test Range (OTR) in South Africa, on a pre-programmed course. Continue reading
MMC’s 2nd Generation Hydrogen Fuel Cell for Drones
Hydrogen fuel cell technology is really an environmentally friendly solution towards a drone industry bottleneck, because it can provide continuous power for UAVs so long as the hydrogen is supplied continually. MMC hydrogen fuel cell H1-Fuel Cell is an evolutionary product that is tailored-designed to enable commercial drone for long endurance. Continue reading
Siberian Laser Technology to Recharge UAVs
Specialists of the Institute of Atmospheric Optics within the Siberian branch of Russia’s Academy of Sciences have developed a device to remotely recharge drones, overcoming atmospheric disturbances, and also to shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles, Institute Researcher Grigory Filimonov told TASS. Continue reading
Fixed-Wing mini UAV with Transitioning Flight Capability
In cooperation with the drone lab of ENAC in Toulouse, MAVLab of Delft University of Technology has developed a hybrid UAV, called ‘Cyclone’. It is hybrid in the sense that it can hover, as well as fly like an airplane. Continue reading
MIT Gas-Powered Drone Remains Aloft for Five Days
In the event of a natural disaster that disrupts phone and Internet systems over a wide area, autonomous aircraft could potentially hover over affected regions, carrying communications payloads that provide temporary telecommunications coverage to those in need. Continue reading