416 European Drone Strategy 2.0

European drone strategy 2.0, armed drones for Ukraine, drones used for poaching and other wildlife investigations, drone videos of three active volcanoes, dynamically assigning frequencies for UAS command and control, a survey of consumer attitudes on home drone delivery of goods and food, liquid hydrogen power, and the Dover AFB sUAS program.

UAV News

Drone Strategy 2.0: Creating a large-scale European drone market

The European Commission adopted the European Drone Strategy 2.0 which offers a vision for the further development of the European drone market. The Commission wants to ensure that society supports drones. By 2030, the Drone Strategy envisions a number of services, including emergency services, mapping, imaging, inspection and surveillance; the urgent delivery of small packages, such as biological samples or medicines; Air Mobility services, like air taxis that provide regular transport services for passengers, initially with a pilot on board, but ultimately fully automated operations.

The Commission’s strategy includes operational, technical, and financial actions:

• Adopting common rules for airworthiness, and new training requirements
• Funding the creation of an online platform to support local stakeholders and industry implementing sustainable Innovative Air Mobility.
• Developing a Strategic Drone Technology Roadmap to identify priority areas for research and innovation, to reduce existing strategic dependencies and to avoid new ones arising.
• Defining criteria for a voluntary cybersecurity-approved drone label.

See: A Drone Strategy 2.0 for a Smart and Sustainable Unmanned Aircraft Eco-System in Europe [PDF].

Senators urge Pentagon to send advanced Gray Eagle drones to Ukraine

After some reports that the Pentagon had decided to not send armed drones to Ukraine, sixteen Senate Republicans and Democrats sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin objecting. In the letter, the Senators say, “This particular [Unmanned Aerial System] will increase Ukraine’s unmanned capabilities in the near term and demands careful reconsideration. Most importantly, armed [Unmanned Aerial Systems] could find and attack Russian warships in the Black Sea, breaking its coercive blockade and alleviate dual pressures on the Ukrainian economy and global food prices.” The General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones can hold up to four Hellfire Missiles.

Poachers beware—new drone team launched to assist in wildlife crime investigations

The five Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) drone law enforcement officers have been trained and have their FAA pilot licenses. The drones will assist officers in their investigations through increased documentation of crime scenes and locating evidence.

Drones capture video of three active volcanoes around the world

Watch videos of three active volcanoes: Mauna Loa in Hawaii, the Villarrica volcano in Chile, and Russia’s Shiveluch volcano.