Drones & UAVs News & Discussions

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caltrek
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Fireworks are Out, Drone Shows are In This Fourth of July
by Jennifer A. Kingson
July 4, 2022

Introduction:
(Axios) Colorfully lit drones will be flying in patriotic formations over cities and towns across the U.S. this July 4th as a newfangled alternative to fireworks — particularly in the bone-dry West, where sparks can cause catastrophic wildfires.

Why it matters: Finally, there's an appealing alternative to traditional pyrotechnics, which critics have been hating for years (due to noise, pollution, injuries, and environmental harm).

• Among some fireworks fans, sentimental attachment is being supplanted by pragmatic concerns: In Douglas County, Colorado, for instance, last December's holiday fireworks caused grass fires at three launch sites.

Driving the news: As communities ban fireworks because of drought, a small but growing number are turning to nighttime drone shows as the flagship entertainment for Independence Day.

• Demand is so high that the handful of companies that operate drone lights shows say they're completely booked — and have been for months, leaving lots of late-to-the-table municipalities out of luck this year.

• "We've fielded hundreds of requests that we, unfortunately, can't take," said Graham Hill, founder and CEO of Hireuavpro.com, which makes shows of 10-12 minutes using anywhere from 100 drones ("the entry-level") to 500.
Read more here: https://www.axios.com/2022/07/01/firew ... dence-day
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caltrek
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One Size Doesn’t Fit All for Wing’s Drone Deliveries
by Brian Heater
July 14, 2022

Introduction:
(Techcrunch) For many, drone delivery has understandably felt like a fool’s errand. It’s a category clouded by regulator and logistical concerns, and one that’s often felt — at best — a long ways down the road. Wing has been among the leading lights in a space that’s seen its share of setbacks — including its chief big-name competitor, Amazon.

The firm’s growth has been slow and deliberate. It’s necessary due to the various hurdles that need to be cleared in order to bring such a vision to life, and possible thanks to the vast resources of parent company, Alphabet. Even vertical takeoff drones require a long runway.

In February, Wing promoted CTO Adam Woodworth to CEO after eight years with the GoogleX graduate. A month later, the firm announced that it hit 200,000 commercial deliveries, a big, round figure primarily driven by its expanding presence in Australia.

Wing still has a bit of that X shine on it, and as such hasn’t sought out a ton of press beyond some controlled releases via its blog post. It’s an approach I can appreciate as someone who sees so much early-stage tech get overhyped before it’s fully baked. It’s an easy way to set unrealistic expectations for what will ultimately be a long journey.
Read more here: https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/14/one ... iveries/


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UK set to have world's biggest automated drone superhighway

10 hours ago

The UK is set to become home to the world's largest automated drone superhighway within the next two years.

The drones will be used on the 164-mile Skyway project connecting towns and cities, including Cambridge and Rugby.

It is part of a £273m funding package for the aerospace sector which will be revealed by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on Monday.

Other projects include drones delivering mail to the Isles of Scilly and medication across Scotland.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-62177614


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Experimental Zephyr Drone Sets New Record for Uncrewed Flight Duration
by Brett Tingley
July 27, 2022

Introduction:
(Space.com) An experimental aircraft tested in conjunction with the United States Army has been in the air above the Sonoran Desert for 42 days, breaking its own record for longest uncrewed flight.

The solar-powered, high-altitude Airbus Zephyr S took off from the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground on June 15, 2022 and has since been flying patterns over the Yuma Test Range and Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.

The flight has now broken Zephyr's previous record of 25 days, 23 hours that it set in August 2018. The latest flight has seen Zephyr reach a number of additional milestones including its first flight over water, first flight into international airspace, the longest continuous flight while being controlled through satellite communications, and the farthest flight from its launch point, according to a U.S. Army statement(opens in new tab).

Zephyr features a narrow, almost skeletal-looking fuselage and wings boasting a wingspan of 82 feet (25 meters). Despite its large size, the drone is made from lightweight carbon fiber composites, bringing its overall weight down to just 165 pounds (75 kilograms).

Airbus describes(opens in new tab) Zephyr as "the first stratospheric UAS of its kind" which is able to fly continuously for spans of months at a time. The aircraft is known as a "High Altitude Platform Station," or HAPS, sometimes referred to as a pseudo-satellite. This class of aircraft is designed to remain aloft for extended periods while using solar energy to charge its onboard batteries, which are then used to keep the aircraft flying at night. Thanks to its energy storage system, Airbus claims Zephyr's in-flight operation is completely carbon neutral.
Read more here: https://www.space.com/airbus-zephyr-dr ... ht-record or here: https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/20 ... e-arizona/
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Nanotechandmorefuture
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Post by Nanotechandmorefuture »

caltrek wrote: Sat Jul 30, 2022 2:36 pm Zephyr


So its true. Guess this must be the coralling system for the future. :(
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Drones are Sniffing Out Landmines in Ukraine
by Alex Fitzpatrick
August 29 , 2022

Introduction:
(Axios) The landmines that plague Ukraine following six months of drawn-out fighting have a new enemy as minesweeping teams get a boost from high-tech drones.

The big picture: As much as 62,000 square miles of Ukrainian land could be "contaminated" by mines, per Kyiv's most recent estimate. Removing all those explosives-in-waiting will take years, if not decades.

Why it matters: Landmines are indiscriminate, killing both soldiers and civilians, and pose a threat even well after a conflict ends.

  • Mines killed or injured at least 7,073 people around the world in 2020, per the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor. Civilians made up 80% of those casualties, and among that group, at least half were children.
  • Drones, robots and similar tech can help reduce the inherent danger of locating buried mines

Read more here: https://www.axios.com/2022/08/29/drone ... s-ukraine
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Swarm of 40 Drones Over Fort Irwin an Ominous Sign of What’s to Come
by Tyler Rogoway
September 13, 2022

Introduction:
(The Drive) After years of more or less being in denial of a rapidly growing and uniquely problematic threat, the battle of Mosul six years ago saw homemade explosive-laden drones constantly attacking friendly forces. This forced the Pentagon to begrudgingly accept this new 'democratized' weapon of warfare for which it had little defense — small and easy-to-field weaponized drones — as a major threat. Since then, the U.S. military has been running flat out trying to catch up to what is a rapidly evolving range of capabilities that are now causing havoc on battlefields and beyond. One ominous video posted by the commander of the U.S. Army's National Training Center sums up what our troops are going to be facing in the future and how the military is racing to prepare for it.

Brig. Gen. Curtis Taylor posted the video on Twitter under his official account, with the caption stating:

"At sunrise this morning a swarm of 40 quadcopters all equipped with cameras, MILES, and lethal munition capable launched in advance of 11th ACR’s [11th Armored Cavalry Regiment] attack on a prepared defense by 1AD [1st Armored Division]. Drones will be as important in the first battle of the next war as artillery is today." (See linked article for referenced Twitter feed).
Read more here: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ ... s-to-come
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Post by Nanotechandmorefuture »

caltrek wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 6:31 pm Swarm of 40 Drones Over Fort Irwin an Ominous Sign of What’s to Come
by Tyler Rogoway
September 13, 2022

Introduction:
(The Drive) After years of more or less being in denial of a rapidly growing and uniquely problematic threat, the battle of Mosul six years ago saw homemade explosive-laden drones constantly attacking friendly forces. This forced the Pentagon to begrudgingly accept this new 'democratized' weapon of warfare for which it had little defense — small and easy-to-field weaponized drones — as a major threat. Since then, the U.S. military has been running flat out trying to catch up to what is a rapidly evolving range of capabilities that are now causing havoc on battlefields and beyond. One ominous video posted by the commander of the U.S. Army's National Training Center sums up what our troops are going to be facing in the future and how the military is racing to prepare for it.

Brig. Gen. Curtis Taylor posted the video on Twitter under his official account, with the caption stating:

"At sunrise this morning a swarm of 40 quadcopters all equipped with cameras, MILES, and lethal munition capable launched in advance of 11th ACR’s [11th Armored Cavalry Regiment] attack on a prepared defense by 1AD [1st Armored Division]. Drones will be as important in the first battle of the next war as artillery is today." (See linked article for referenced Twitter feed).
Read more here: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ ... s-to-come
OH YEAH! It took me years to realize it and accept it for my sense of self preservation that I will not fight any wars in the future. I am a conscenscious objector though it unfortunately took me until 2016 to realize that. I should have paid attention in the USA when they started with women graduating US Army Airborne school and Ranger school around 2010 or earlier. But I was too proud back then so I was not paying attention to the signs of what was going down. The wars of the future will be men and women fighting against robots and who knows what else. Look at all these movies in the past 20 years basically showing this with the most recent one within the past 2 years being "Tomorrow War".

Wars always were a class conflict between poor folks of both opposing nations when kept simple with people dying on both sides. Now it will be so obvious what was being done in years before in terms of death counts that anyone with any sense will not fight in a war. The same loud mouths that used to sometimes avoid dying in human wars of the past 20 years at least will now have a high chance of not coming back. I think dealing with those folks calling everyone else weak will be short lived because these battlefields of the future will be a massacre.
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