By Chip Downing, Senior Director of Aerospace & Defense, Wind River

ALAMEDA, Calif., 16 May 2013. The Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned aircraft achieved a catapult launch from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush carrier, the first of its kind in aviation history. This marks a very proud day for Wind River knowing that the VxWorks real-time operating system is a key technology for this aircraft, developed as part of the Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program.

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md., 16 May 2013. Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) and the U.S. Navy made carrier-capable unmanned aircraft history by catapulting the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77).

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash., 11 May 2013. Engineers at Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace (KDA) in Kongsberg, Norway, needed a thermal management solution for its Joint Strike Missile (JSM) design. They found their solution at the Parker Aerospace business segment of Parker Hannifin Corp. (NYSE:PH) in Liberty Lake, Wash.

WASHINGTON, 10 May 2013. NASA officials have selected Development Projects Inc. of Dayton, Ohio, to manage its new Centennial Challenge prize competition related to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in 2014.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., 9 May 2013. Engineers and executives involved with small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAVs) and systems (sUAS) are invited to take part in a short online survey. Industry participation will help a student in the Master of Aeronautical Science in Aeronautics degree program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Worldwide Campus, meet his graduation requirements.

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md., 7 May 2013. Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) and U.S. Navy officials conducted the first fly-in arrested landing of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., 6 May 2013. UTC Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX), has launched a new line of Cloud Cap Technology HD TASE stabilized camera systems housed in a 7.5-pound, 7-inch-diameter sphere, making them ideal for both manned and unmanned systems.

BALTIMORE, Md., 6 May 2013. LaserMotive, a Kent, Wash., company specializing in delivering electric power via lasers, unveiled the first tethered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft system powered by laser over optical fiber.

BOHEMIA, N.Y., 3 May 2013. Data Device Corp. (DDC) in Bohemia, N.Y., is introducing the AceXtreme bridge device to translate avionics messages in real-time between MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429, and Ethernet in any direction, without a host computer.

CINCINNATI, 30 April 2013. L-3 Cincinnati Electronics (L-3 CE) is launching its new NightWarrior 640 Mid-Wave Infrared (MWIR) imaging system, being described as one of the world’s smallest cooled infrared cameras.

ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland, 29 April 2013. Scout Exploration Inc. (OTCBB:SCXN) officials recommend the company’s air-deployed spill response system for responsible offshore development, operation, and advancing environmental protection, especially in the wake of a recent ban on offshore drilling licenses in Arctic waters.

ABU DHABI, U.A.E., 24 April 2013. Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) has opened the 2013 Innovation Challenge Flying Competition, which the company sponsors and holds in coordination with the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investments (ADASI), and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).

ANAHEIM, Calif., 19 April 2013. Advanced Defense Technologies Inc. announced the availability of its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology for precision agriculture applications.

MONROVIA, Calif., 10 April 2013. AeroVironment Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) engineers are working to fulfill a $13.8 million order, under a United States Army contract not to exceed $65.5 million, for RQ-11B Raven small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS), new miniature gimbaled payloads, and initial spares packages.

NEWPORT, Isle of Wight, U.K., 6 April 2013. RFEL, a provider of high-performance, electronic video and signal processing solutions, is launching its HALO low-power, real-time, video processing tool for image-based surveillance in counterterrorism, defense, and security applications.

NORMAN, Okla., 27 March 2013. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Summit in Norman, Oklahoma, closed with a panel of experts from the University of Oklahoma discussing UAS privacy and social implications.

NORMAN, Okla., 27 March 2013. A team of educators are conducting in situ sensing in local storms and air masses with small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS), explains Dr. Brian Argrow, Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles, University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo., during the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Summit in Norman, Okla.

NORMAN, Okla., 27 March 2013. “If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be research,” quipped Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, vice president for research at the University of Oklahoma and a member of the National Science Board, as he quoted Albert Einstein during the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Summit in Norman, Okla., this week.  

NORMAN, Okla., 27 March 2013. Border security folks want to see over the next hill, at night, etc., and small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS) provide those capabilities, describes Kirk Kloeppel from the Borders and Maritime Security Division, Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology (S&T) Directorate. For this reason, DHS officials are evaluating roughly 50 companies’ SUAS platforms and technologies.