414 Operations Over People

Operations Over People approval for AgEagle, transitioning to UAV-dominated air forces, women drone pilots in Ukraine, an autonomous Black Hawk helicopter, a drone facilitates a robbery, a BVLOS corridor in upstate New York, an autonomous firefighting helicopter, 500 drones celebrate a game anniversary, and how to increase lithium battery lifespan. UAV News AgEagle’s eBee X Series Drones Are the First and Only UAVs to be Approved by the FAA for Operations Over People (OOP) in the United States AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. announced that the eBee X series of UAS comply with Category 3 of the Operations Over People rules for sUAS. These are the first and only drones on the market to comply with the rules published in March 2021. eBee drone operators will no longer need an FAA waiver for OOP or Operations Over Moving Vehicles. Testing was conducted by the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (“MAAP”). The family of eBee fixed-wing UAS includes the eBee X, eBee GEO, and eBee TAC. The eBee is currently approved for use by the U.S. Department Of Defense under the Blue sUAS 2.0 program, for BVLOS operations in Brazil, and Operations Over People and BVLOS operations in Canada. It is also the first drone to receive European Union Aviation Safety Agency (“EASA”) C2 certification and a Design Verification essential for these operations from EASA. Transitioning from Human Pilots to Drones This opinion piece argues that manned military aircraft have issues and unmanned aircraft, or drones, can address some of them. This is not to say that manned combat aircraft should be abandoned. Rather, supplementing manned with unmanned should be the focus and the military should plan to “transition toward UAV-dominated air forces.” A new school in Kyiv is training women to pilot drones The Female Pilots of Ukraine school opened recently to teach Ukrainian women to operate drones. Most Ukrainian drone pilots are men and this school focuses on training women – civilians and military student pilots. Black Hawk Flies Missions Without Pilots Pilot-less Black Hawk flies logistics and rescue missions In a demonstration to the U.S. Army, Sikorsky and DARPA showed how an autonomous Black Hawk helicopter could perform internal and external cargo resupply missions, as well as a rescue operation. The demonstration shows that in the future, optionally piloted utility helicopters could fly complex missions safely. How a DJI Mini drone enabled a $147,000 ATM robbery The incident took place in broad daylight in France with security footage showing a drone flying into the air vent. The drone subsequently pushed a button that opened a door allowing the thieves to enter. Governor Hochul Announces Major Progress Toward Boosting New York’s Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Industry Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the New York Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site ( NUAIR ) received approval from the FAA to fly uncrewed aircraft systems BVLOS across the 50-mile airspace of New York’s Drone Corridor. NUAIR can fly civilian drones from Syracuse International Airport to Griffiss International Airport in Rome without the need for visual observers. The Governor also announced that New York will be providing NUAIR with an additional $21 million in funding to cultivate the UAS industry hub along the corridor in Central New York. Also, NUAIR has entered into an agreement with Quebec-based VPorts to develop an international Advanced Air Mobility Corridor between Syracuse International Airport and Quebec, Canada. Video: New York UAS Corridor – Flying 50-Miles Beyond Visual Line of Sight Rain Industries announces autonomous firefighting helicopter Rain Industries says, “Every Wildfire Starts Small” and “The Rain System contains ignitions within 10 minutes to prevent catastrophic wildfires.” Rain announced their next-generation MK2 autonomous firefighting demonstrator aircraft, an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) that carries about 30 gallons of payload. Backlash after 500 drones light up New York City sky to celebrate Candy Crush A swarm of 500 drones performed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Candy Crush game. Not everyone was happy. Video: 500 Drones Take Over NYC Skies, Twitterverse Outraged “Shoot them down” Chinese scientists’ new gel filling could triple lifespan of lithium batteries for EVs, drones Beijing University of Chemical Technology researchers say a new technology could triple the lifespan of lithium batteries and decrease the risk of battery fires. They do this by replacing the liquid battery electrolytes with gel-polymer electrolytes. UAV Video of the Week Video: 10 Fastest Military Drones And Unmanned Vehicles In The World