US Navy foresees an uncrewed future for its surface and underwater fleet
The service has been conducting various procurement and development efforts to integrate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles into its inventory.
The number of Section 333 exemption approvals issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has passed 1,000 in support of commercial unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations in national airspace.
Many of the grants issued by the FAA allow aerial filming for uses such as real estate photography, precision agriculture and motion picture production. Grants have also been given for power distribution tower and wiring inspections and bridge and railroad infrastructure inspections.
Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 enables the Secretary of Transportation authority to determine if a UAV requires an airworthiness certificate in order to operate in national airspace. The FAA recently streamlined the process for operators to access national airspace to address growing demand for Section 333 authorisations.
In March, the FAA began issuing blanket certificates of waiver or authorisation to Section 333 exemption holders. To speed up Section 333 petitions processing, the FAA began issuing summary grants in April for operations similar to those previously approved.
The service has been conducting various procurement and development efforts to integrate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles into its inventory.
Tekever has manufactured the AR3, AR4 and AR5 UAS with all systems sharing common electronics and software architecture, which has enabled the reuse of ground segment elements within the new ARX UAS.
As the dynamics of aerial combat rapidly evolve, Chinese scientists have engineered a sophisticated air separation drone model that can fragment into up to six drones, each capable of executing distinct battlefield roles and challenging the efficacy of current anti-drone defences such as the UK’s Dragonfire laser system.
Advancements in air defence technologies have begun to reshape aerial combat dynamics in the Middle East, as illustrated by recent events involving the Israeli Air Force and Hezbollah.
Both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war have been using UAS for effective low-cost attacks, as well as impactful web and social media footage. Thousands more have now been committed to Ukrainian forces.
The US Army has intentions to develop light, medium and heavy variants of the Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) as part of the branche’s Next Generation Combat Vehicle family.