Leonardo showcases new AWHero developments at SeaFuture 2023
At SeaFuture 2023 in La Spezia, Italy, Leonardo showcased new AWHero rotary-wing UAS (RWUAS) developments, touting its maritime operations capabilities.
ECA Group is working on the Smart and Networking Underwater Robots in Cooperation Meshes (SWARMs) project and will lead work on three different packages, the company announced on 6 September.
The three-year $19.34 million European project was launched in July 2015 and involves 35 partners from ten countries. The project's main goal is to make autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) more accessible and useful to a wider range of maritime and offshore industries.
Technologies being investigated include developing new cooperative autonomous meshes using heterogeneous AUVs, ROVs and USVs; real time environmental recognition and sensing capabilities; advanced decision making environment system based on imaging recognition algorithms; and an underwater communication framework.
The company is providing its A9 AUV equipped with an interferometric sidescan sonar and an embedded computer in order to analyse in real time the quality of the depth soundings in order to modify mission parameters and optimise the quality of the survey. ECA is also involved in the development of algorithms for sonar image registration to improve positioning and navigation during repeated missions over the same area by one or multiple vehicles of different types.
ECA will participate in an underwater test in the Canary Islands with the A9 in September 2016. The test aims to prove the scientific and theoretical input of the past year.
At SeaFuture 2023 in La Spezia, Italy, Leonardo showcased new AWHero rotary-wing UAS (RWUAS) developments, touting its maritime operations capabilities.
On 31 May, Quantum Systems announced that the Ukrainian MoD had ordered 300 additional Vector drones under a third order that the German government is funding.
AeroVironment has been dropped from the hunt to provide the US Army with a Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS), leaving Griffon Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Sierra Nevada and Textron Systems in the running.
At FEINDEF in Madrid, Navantia, SAES and Perseo announced an intention to develop a line of uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs).
The UK MoD has released a request for information on small armed UAS which could be used by the British Army.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) has delivered the first new build MQ-9 Extended Range (ER) to the US Marine Corps (USMC).