CommercialAeroVironment to Develop MALE UAS for DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has issued a $2.3 million contract to AeroVironment to develop a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that can operate from small ships providing…
CommercialMQ-8C Completes First Flight Northrop Grumman's MQ-8C unmanned helicopter completed its first flight at the Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif., last week. The flight, operated by a ground-based team from the U.S. Navy and…
CommercialNew Unmanned Aircraft Research Center Opening in Texas Texas A&M University has approved the establishment of a new facility for research and testing of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The Lone Star Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center (LSUASC), a joint collaboration of…
CommercialThales, AirBerlin Sign Avionics Agreement The AirBerlin group has seined a seven-year "Avionics-by-the-hour" (ABTH) agreement with Thales in support of maintenance and spares provisioning for its fleet of A320 family aircraft. The German carrier has a total…
ATM ModernizationHarris, FAA Making ‘Significant’ DataComm Progress Five major U.S. carriers, including United Airlines, have agreed to equip aircraft over the next six years with digital avionics that enable data communications between pilots and air traffic controllers, a significant…
CommercialFAA Expands In-Flight Use of Personal Electronic Devices Airline passengers are now allowed to use personal electronic devices (PEDs) throughout all phases of flight, the FAA said Thursday. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta made the announcement based on recommendations from…
Business & GAFAA Certification Process Unable to Keep Pace With NextGen The FAA's ability to certify new technologies and aircraft components needs to be greatly improved if the agency wants to support growing demand for certifying NextGen technologies and procedures, according to the…
Embedded AvionicsNorthrop Grumman to Upgrade E-8C Avionics Northrop Grumman has received a $43 million contract to upgrade the avionics of the U.S. Air Force fleet of E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint Stars). [E-8C Joint…