Browse Sites By Day: 09.06.2021 RSS

Watch a fighter jet and drone make 'wet contact' for the first time

2021-06-09T22:10:48+0000

Last Friday, an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet flew behind another aircraft, dipped its wings a little as it adjusted its position, and then connected its probe with a hose trailing from the plane in front of it. It then received hundreds of pounds of fuel, all while traveling at an altitude of around 10,000 feet. While it’s common for military aircraft to refuel in the sky, up until now, the planes giving them a top-off have always had human pilots. What sets this moment apart is that the refueling aircraft was a drone called the MQ-25. While there were two people in the Super Hornet, the drone was unoccupied—an unmanned aerial vehicle that schlepps and delivers fuel.

Animated Air Force video shows downing of drones

2021-06-09T21:11:55+0000

The Tactical High-power Operational Responder, or THOR, was built to protect military bases from enemy drone attacks.The system, can shoot high-powered microwaves at unmanned aircraft to disrupt their electronics. Amber Anderson, the project manager, said the video was created as a way to better explain the technology to the public. She said one of the reasons for the campaign is to inform the public about what the country is doing to prepare as drones become more commonplace in the skies.

Watch a Drone Swarm Fly Through a Fake Forest Without Crashing

2021-06-09T20:18:34+0000

Obstacle avoidance system testing takes time, patience, and a lot of crashes. One researcher had built a computer model to simulate the trajectories of five autonomous quadcopters flying through a dense forest without hitting anything. But crashes can get expensive while working on optimising code. So, the researcher built a fake forest the size of a bedroom.

In a world-first, two guys compete in flying racing cars [video]

2021-06-09T14:13:19+0000

Mendiola is a Filipino drone enthusiast whose indigenously developed eVTOL aircraft, Koncepto Millenya, has previously caught DroneDJ's attention ...

America's New Drone Killer Blasts Targets With Stringy Pink Stuff

2021-06-09T14:13:19+0000

The U.S. military’s mad scientist division, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has unveiled a new counter-drone system designed to protect convoys on the move. The system, known as Mobile Force Protection, launches a drone to intercept other small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS). The drone sprays pink material that looks like silly string, forcing the attacking drone to crash. The system was developed to specifically deal with threats that do not rely on a radio or GPS receiver for their operation.

Trekking Chinese elephants take nap after 500km journey

2021-06-09T14:13:19+0000

A herd of elephants that have been tracked as they travelled nearly 500km across China were spotted taking a quick break for a group nap in a forest near the city of Kunming. Drone footage released by Chinese state media yesterday shows the herd, including a young calf, taking a rest.