What's next for the Pentagon after the Replicator programme?
Although the Replicator initiative has made several accomplishments, there are still multiple gaps to plug across the US Department of Defense (DoD) and its services.
Sanborn UAS ops approved
The Sanborn Map Company has been granted approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to commercially operate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in civil airspace under the Section 333 Exemption. The approval was announced on 3 June and allows Sanborn Map Company to provide its UAS services with immediate effect.
In order to validate its geospatial data collection capabilities, Sanborn Map Company completed several test flights and data collection projects. According to the company, the results of these tests were high-resolution, engineering-grade digital terrain models with accuracy greater than two inches, vibration-free video and multispectral frame imagery at sub-centimetre resolution.
Sanborn Map Company's UAS-based services include site mapping, damage response and assessment, highway survey and accident mapping, volumetric assessment and asset estimation, and precision agriculture. It also provides image processing and analysis for the collected UAS imagery, cloud storage of customer data and image processing and distribution for other UAS operators.
The company operates a vertical take-off and landing UAS with a payload capacity of 15lbs that can carry video, infrared, hyperspectral, thermal and multispectral sensors. The UAS also features a military-grade autopilot with GPS waypoints and laser altimeters.
Sanchit Agarwal, director of mapping operations, Sanborn Map Company, said: 'Sanborn's UAS technology is a great fit for a host of customers. Among them are police and fire departments, agricultural operations, utilities, oil and gas concerns, emergency response planners, local governments, mine operators and the media.'
You may also like
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
![What's next for the Pentagon after the Replicator programme?]()
-
![Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)]()
Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
-
![SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale]()
SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions]()
SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America]()
SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
-
![Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military]()
Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.
