A General Atomics remotely piloted drone flew across the Atlantic, military drone documents found on the dark web, Google’s delivery drone project moves forward, and recreational drone registration reaffirmed.
The civilian-registered and remotely piloted General Atomics MQ-9B SkyGuardian flew 3,760 nautical miles from the Grand Sky park at the Grand Forks Air Force in North Dakota to the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford in Gloucestershire, UK in 24 hours and two minutes. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) says, “MQ-9B is the next generation of GA-ASI’s multi-mission Predator® B fleet. GA-ASI named its baseline MQ-9B aircraft SkyGuardian, and the maritime surveillance variant SeaGuardian. MQ-9B is a “type-certifiable” version of the MQ-9 Predator B product line. It’s [an]… RPA that can meet the stringent airworthiness type-certification requirements of various military and civil authorities, including the UK Military Airworthiness Authority (MAA) and the U.S. FAA… Type-certification, together with an extensively tested collision avoidance system, will allow unrestricted operations in all classes of civil airspace.”
A few free seats remain available for the AOPA Drone Social during EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on July 27, 2018. Food and beverages will be provided, and a 20-minute presentation by event sponsor PrecisionHawk will be followed by time to network and socialize. Register now.
Someone hacked into an Air Force captain’s computer and accessed documents. They included a private list of airmen working with General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper drones as well as maintenance and course material. The threat intelligence firm Recorded Future posted in their blog post, Military Reaper Drone Documents Leaked on the Dark Web, “On June 1, 2018, while monitoring criminal actor activities on the deep and dark web, Recorded Future’s Insikt Group identified an attempted sale of what we believe to be highly sensitive U.S. Air Force documents. Specifically, an English-speaking hacker claimed to have access to export-controlled documents pertaining to the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Insikt analysts engaged the hacker and confirmed the validity of the compromised documents. Insikt Group identified the name and country of residence of an actor associated with a group we believe to be responsible. This analysis is available to our customers via Insikt’s blog. We continue to assist law enforcement in their investigation.”
