Textron Systems has been on a competitive roll lately, in the running to build not only robotic ground vehicles for the Army but a critical aerial system as well.
Brett Davis and Abe Peck
Industry Trends Observed at 2023 XPONENTIAL Show
AUVSI wrapped its 2023 XPONENTIAL convention in Denver last week, bringing together thousands of attendees and hundreds of companies to discuss a path toward autonomy. The staff of Autonomous Media noticed several trends at the show.

Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority Approves U-Space Drone Operations

Anduril Unveils Jet-Powered Roadrunner, Roadrunner M UAS

Percepto Receives FAA Approval to Remotely Operate Full Drone Fleet by One Operator

Maritime Robotics, Teledyne Marine Deliver USVs to Ukraine

Agritechnica 2023: Autonomous Agriculture Takes Steps Forward

Phenix Solutions Awarded USAF Phase II Contract for Heavy Lift VTOL Aircraft

Drone Disrupts Ravens-Bengals Football Matchup

Industry, Government Officials Tout Partnership to Promote Domestic Drone Market

Elistair Unveils Khronos Tethered Drone for Tactical ISR Missions

Exyn Technologies Appoints Brandon Torres Declet as CEO

Schubeler and Bellwether Industries to Build and Test Electric Propulsion Systems for Volars

ANRA Technologies Launches VMS Vertiport Management System for Urban Air Mobility

Airbus U.S. Space & Defense Establishes New UAS Business Line

Saildrone Issued First Classification for Commercial Autonomous Vehicle from ABS

PennDOT Teams Up with T3 Global Strategies for Its First Drone LiDAR Road Drainage Project
Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority Approves U-Space Drone Operations
Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority has approved operations for two U-space drone services providers in the country, opening the door for nationwide drone flights.
Percepto Receives FAA Approval to Remotely Operate Full Drone Fleet by One Operator
Percepto announced the Federal Aviation Administration granted the company a nationwide waiver to operate a full fleet of Percepto drones remotely by one operator.
Industry, Government Officials Tout Partnership to Promote Domestic Drone Market
Senate and House lawmakers, representatives from industry and AUVSI officials gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 14 to tout AUVSI’s Partnership for Drone Competitiveness
ALDOT Uses SimActive Software to Support Tornado Recovery
Montreal, Canada, November 14th., 2023 – SimActive Inc., a world-leading developer of photogrammetry software, announces the use of Correlator3D by…
Exyn Technologies Appoints Brandon Torres Declet as CEO
Exyn Technologies has appointed Brandon Torres Declet as CEO.
Schubeler and Bellwether Industries to Build and Test Electric Propulsion Systems for Volars
A Strategic Alliance between Bellwether Industries and Schubeler will accelerate eVTOL Innovation within Volar Project. Bellwether Industries, a pioneering force…
Airbus U.S. Space & Defense Establishes New UAS Business Line
Building on its high-flying Zephyr unmanned aircraft, Airbus U.S. Space & Defense is establishing a new, purpose-built line of business dedicated to uncrewed aircraft systems, the company announced.
Saildrone Issued First Classification for Commercial Autonomous Vehicle from ABS
Saildrone, which provides ocean data collection using autonomous vehicles, has received the first classification for an autonomous, uncrewed surface vehicle from the American Bureau of Shipping.
Trimble, Skydio Integrate GNSS Technologies for Construction, Utilities, Transportation Agencies
Skydio announced a strategic collaboration with Trimble creating an integrated workflow of accurate data capture, data visualization and data analytics addressing the needs of critical infrastructure industries in their surveying, mapping and inspections.
D-Fend Solutions Appoints Mike Laor as Chief Financial Officer
D-Fend Solutions, which provides radio frequency, cyber-based, non-kinetic, non-jamming, counter-drone takeover technology, announced the addition of Mike Laor as chief financial officer.
Kraken, L3Harris Collaborate for USSV Innovation
United Kingdom-based Kraken Technology Group announced a collaboration with L3Harris Technologies to advance the integration of control systems for its K40 Manta unmanned vehicle prototype.
Michigan Central, MDOT launch Advanced Aerial Innovation Region in Detroit
Michigan Central and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced today the launch of Detroit’s Advanced Aerial Innovation Region
A New Era for Aviation Safety and Efficiency: uAvionix Acquires Iris Automation
Bigfork, MT 24 October 2023 – uAvionix, a leader in communications, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) solutions for the safe integration…
SwissDrones Achieves Milestone FAA Authorization for Beyond Visual Line of Sight UAV Operations
First-in-kind, historic BVLOS approval enables multi-sensor, long-endurance flight operations for SDO 50 V2 uncrewed helicopters. Zurich, Switzerland – October 24,…
Shield AI, Sentient Vision Team to Put ViDAR on V-BAT UAS
Shield AI is collaborating with Australia’s Sentient Vision Systems to supply Sentient’s ViDAR wide-area motion imagery system on Shield’s V-BAT UAS.
Anduril Unveils Jet-Powered Roadrunner, Roadrunner M UAS
Anduril Industries has introduced two new jet-powered drones, the Roadrunner and Roadrunner M, the latter of which carries an explosive charge to destroy enemy drones or aircraft.
Elistair Unveils Khronos Tethered Drone for Tactical ISR Missions
Elistair, which builds long-endurance, tethered unmanned aircraft systems, announced today the unveiling of Khronos, a fully automated tethered drone system designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions in challenging environments.
ANRA Technologies Launches VMS Vertiport Management System for Urban Air Mobility
ANRA Technologies announced its new Vertiport Management System (VMS) at the Dubai Air Show, which it said marks a significant milestone in managing vertical takeoff and landing urban air mobility aircraft operations at vertiport facilities.
BRINC Delivers First LEMUR 2 Drones to Emergency Responders
BRINC, which builds technology for public safety, on Nov. 2 announced the first deliveries of its flagship drone model, the LEMUR 2, to customers in U.S. public safety agencies.
Saildrone Fleet Surpasses 1M Nautical Miles, 32K Days at Sea
Saildrone announced its fleet of USVs has surpassed a cumulative distance of 1 million nautical miles during more than 32,000 days at sea.
UAS of All Sizes Aim for Army Programs at Fall AUSA Conference
Numerous unmanned aircraft were on display at the Association of the U.S. Army’s October meeting, ranging from systems that could land in the palm of your hand to ones intended to carry heavy cargo or even people.
China’s Civil Aviation Administration Grants Type Certificate to EHang for UAS Passenger Vehicle
EHang Holdings Ltd., a Chinese urban air mobility provider, announced its EH216-S passenger-carrying unmanned aircraft has obtained a type certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Hivemind and V-BAT: Shield AI’s Autonomy, ISR and Teaming Move Forward
Shield AI announced that V-BAT teams powered by Hivemind could now be purchased, to operate autonomously over electronically contested battlespaces, starting in 2024.
Skydio Unveils Ability to Fly X10 Drone from a Browser with 5G Connection
Skydio announced Skydio Remote Flight Deck, a new offering that enables remote flight for Skydio X10 drones via a browser, anywhere over a cellular network.
Anduril Announces Anvil-M Munition Variant Of Interceptor Platform
Anduril has unveiled Anvil-M, a new munitions variant of its autonomous Anvil interceptor drone that can effectively intercept and defeat threats from Group 1 and 2 unmanned aircraft systems.
AUVSI Announces Green UAS Certification for Skyfront Perimeter 8+ Drone
AUVSI today announced it has awarded Green UAS certification to the Skyfront Perimeter 8 and 8+ long-endurance, hybrid-electric unmanned aircraft systems.
Skydio Launches New X10 Drone
Skydio has announced its latest enterprise drone, the Skydio X10.
Gotonomi Offers Small-Sized GEO Satellite Connectivity
Gotonomi is a new geostationary satellite communication system for unmanned aircraft and other vehicles, small enough to hold in the palm of a hand, that launched at the Commercial UAV Expo here last week.
Draganfly’s Commander Expands Flexibility with Hybrid Fuel Variant, Promo Drone System
Canada’s Draganfly drone maker is highlighting the truck-like utility of its Commander 3 XL drone, showcased at the Commercial UAV Expo here last week with the Promo Drone, an LED digital display that could be used for advertising or emergency notifications.
SEA-KIT Funded for Hydrogen-Powered USV, Refilling Station
SEA-KIT International has won funding from the Zero Emissions Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition to design and manufacture a hydrogen fueled unmanned surface vessel and refueling station.
Exyn Technologies Appoints Brandon Torres Declet as CEO
Exyn Technologies has appointed Brandon Torres Declet as CEO.
D-Fend Solutions Appoints Mike Laor as Chief Financial Officer
D-Fend Solutions, which provides radio frequency, cyber-based, non-kinetic, non-jamming, counter-drone takeover technology, announced the addition of Mike Laor as chief financial officer.
Reliable Robotics Reveals Integration Solution; Marc Pos to Lead Radar Systems Component
Reliable Robotics announced the addition of Marc Pos to lead radar design, filling a key part of its aircraft-agnostic Airspace Integration Solution plans.
Five Good Questions: Michael Weigand, Shift5
Michael Weigand is the cofounder and chief growth officer of Shift5, an observability platform for onboard operational technology. Prior to…
Five Good Questions: John Peterson, Executive Director of Aviation, Iridium
John Peterson is the executive director of aviation at Iridium Communications Inc., the only satellite communications company that offers truly…
Five Good Questions: Aaron Pierce, Pierce Aerospace
Aaron Pierce is a cofounder and CEO of Pierce Aerospace, which has been developing Remote ID systems since 2017, funded…
D-Fend Solutions Expands U.S. Presence with Multiple Leadership Hires
RA’ANANA, Israel and MCLEAN, Virginia—D-Fend Solutions, which provides radio frequency, cyber-based, non-kinetic, non-jamming, counter-drone takeover technology, has announced multiple additions…
Five Good Questions: Jim Williams, AURA
As AURA’s aviation regulatory affairs director, Jim Williams leads the company’s efforts to secure approval to use its network to…
Five Good Questions: Gordon Heidinger, Hexagon
Gordon Heidinger has spent 25 years in the automotive and transportation industry in a combination of roles as an electrical…
Five Good Questions: Lori Scott, NatureServe
Lori Scott is chief information officer and vice president for technology and partnerships at NatureServe, which, for nearly 50 years,…
Bentley Systems Announces Promotion of Brock Ballard to Chief Revenue Officer and Eric Boyer Joining as Investor Relations Officer
EXTON, Pa. – Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the infrastructure engineering software company, today announced that Brock Ballard, previously vice president and…
In Memoriam: Dee Ann Divis
Dee Ann Divis, the founding editor of Inside Unmanned Systems and contributing editor for Inside GNSS, died Nov. 22 at the age of 62.
Five Good Questions: Peter Liu, Deloitte Federal Consulting
Peter Liu is a managing director leading programs in UAS and C-UAS at Deloitte Federal Consulting.
Dedrone Appoints Former FBI Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Drone Expert to Advisory Board
Dedrone, the market leader in smart airspace security, announced the appointment of Rob D’Amico to its board of advisors. An…
Five Good Questions: Nikhil Vadhavkar, Raptor Maps
Nikhil Vadhavkar is co-founder and CEO of Raptor Maps, which, covering six continents and 40 countries, provides “advanced analytics, insights…