NATO Invests in More Bandwidth for New Data-Hungry Drones – Charles D’Alberto

A NATO Global Hawk surveillance drone on display at the alliance’s summit meeting 

in Warsaw last July. Deploying a fleet of the aircraft has increased the alliance’s

 need for greater satellite communications bandwidth.  P

hoto:  Eric Lalmand/Zuma Press 

BRUSSELS—The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is preparing to expand its satellite communications capability with contracts worth about $1.85 billion later this year as it prepares to field a new fleet of drones.

The alliance’s demand for satellite bandwidth has increased as its operational tempo has stepped up in recent years with the deployment of forces to its eastern flank and the development of a new system of surveillance drones.

The NATO Communications and Information Agency, which operates and defends the alliance’s computer networks and the missile defense command and control system, is slated to announce more than $3 billion in upcoming projects for defense contractors to bid on at a conference in Ottawa, Canada at the end of April.

The alliance is dedicating the biggest chunk of that money to expanding satellite-communication bandwidth for deployed forces and its headquarters.

NATO is acquiring five Global Hawk surveillance drones to be based at Signonella, Italy as part of the Alliance Ground Surveillance system. The first drone is due to be deployed to Europe later this year and will begin operations later this year or 2018.

A senior NATO official said those drones will create a huge demand for satellite data.
“The AGS drone is a huge collector of data, it is a vacuum cleaner of data,” said a NATO official. “Bandwidth is a problem for NATO, for most of the nations.”

In addition to the satellite contracts, NATO is set to move forward with contracts for cyberdefenses, the command and control of its missile defense systems and advanced software.

It can take up to three years from the announcement of a project to a contract to be bid and awarded, NATO officials said. Business consortia have been preparing to bid on the satellite contract, and the alliance is expecting to be able to move forward to receive bids on the project in late 2017.

The alliance provided no details of what companies might bid on the satellite contract. Typically companies put together consortia of firms from multiple alliance countries to bid on NATO contracts.

#NATO #Satellite #Telecommunications #Bandwidth #Drones #Perla_Group #Charles_Dalberto

Posted By Charles D'Alberto

 

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Helicopter regularly flown by Prince William escapes drone crash - Charles D'Alberto

Duke of Cambridge was not on board at time of incident, but investigators say mid-air collision was only avoided by luck

Prince William in the cockpit of the EC145 helicopter. Photograph: Olivia Howitt/Courtesy of BBC/Reuters

An air ambulance regularly piloted by the Duke of Cambridge “narrowly avoided” a collision with a remote-controlled drone, according to an official report.

The helicopter avoided a potentially deadly mid-air crash with the drone by “chance”, 580 metres (1,900ft) above north London at 7.45pm on 26 August.

Investigators found there had been a high risk of the two aircrafts coming into contact, “endangering the EC145 and its crew” over a busy area.

A report by the UK Airprox Board, which probes such incidents to improve air safety, suggested the drone was flying above its permitted altitude.

The Eurocopter 145, which is used by the East Anglian air ambulance (EAAA), has been flown regularly by the duke during his work for the service.

An EAAA spokeswoman said: “The Duke of Cambridge was not on shift when the drone incident took place.”

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The drone passed within 30 metres of the air ambulance, which had medics on board, and was close enough for the crew to see the four-bladed quadcopter.

In its findings, which concluded the incident was in the highest category of risk, Airprox said: “Members agreed that the drone was apparently being operated over a built-up area without CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) permission, was above the altitude where it could be considered in direct unaided line of sight and, if using FPV (first-person view), was above the 1000ft allowed by regulation.

“They therefore agreed that this could be considered as endangering the EC145 and its crew in that the drone had been flown into conflict.

“Notwithstanding the difficulty of visual assessment of range without visual cues, when allied to the pilot’s overall account of the incident the board considered that the reported range was such that this was a situation where a collision had only been narrowly avoided and chance had played a major part.

“They therefore determined the risk to be category A.”

The ambulance control room was contacted by the worried pilot, telling them to inform the police, it added.

A spokeswoman for EAAA said: “We can confirm that, in accordance with aviation regulations and procedures, a pilot reported a drone in his proximity on 26 August 2016.

“The Duke of Cambridge was not on shift when the drone incident took place.

“There are strict rules that drone operators must follow and it is important they are aware of their responsibilities for safe operations at all times.”

The drone pilot was never found, the report said.

#Drones #Helicopter #EC145 #Charles_Dalberto #Aviation

The Floating Helicopter – How It Was Shot – Charles D’Alberto

You may have seen a viral video clip doing the rounds on social media recently of a helicopter taking off with its rotors seemingly still. The result is a visual spectacle that we could never see with our own eyes. But how was the floating helicopter video shot?

In the helicopter video above – published by Munich-based cameraman Chris Fay who was on a world trip when he shot this video – the frame rate and shutter speed would have been synced perfectly to capture the ‘freeze frame’ effect of the propellers, with the shutter speed set much faster than the conventional 180-degree shutter speed, possibly 1/640 or even 1/1250 depending on how fast the propellers rotate per second.

The video is surreal, as it shows us something we can’t see with our eyes.

We got in touch with Chris to talk about how he shot the video:

"I shot this video in January in Hong Kong. I shot the Video using my Samsung S7

Smartphone set on „Pro“ Function, where you can adjust the ISO and the shutter

speed manually, so you have full control. To get rid of the motion blur you have

to set the shutter speed to a very high value.

The Original Video is captured in QHD, which is 2560 x 1440 Pixels on the S7.

The frame rate was 30 fps. I am guessing that the helicopter had a rotation speed of about 6 rounds per seconds and as the 30 fps in the camera is a multiple of that, the blades do look like they are not moving. The helicopter does have the same RPM speed (rounds per minute) when lifting off, it just adjust the tilt of the blades in order to lift off. This circumstance helped to create this illusion."

It’s a cool effect that you can try on any camera and, we now know, even on a smartphone! So why not give it a go?

#Helicopter #Charles_Dalberto #Perla_Group #Aviation

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Lockheed Martin is helping out with QueSST – NASA’s Quiet Supersonic Transport - Charles D'Alberto

Lockheed Martin is completing preliminary design of a low-boom flight demonstrator as part of NASA’s Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) project. The single-engine, Mach 1.4+ X-plane is intended to mimic the shockwave signature of a 100- to 120-seat supersonic airliner and show that a shaped sonic boom of 75 PLdB is quiet enough to permit supersonic flight over land. NASA plans to fly the competitively procured X-plane in 2019 and begin community acceptance testing in 2020.

The ability to fly supersonic over land will be the game changer for supersonic business jets, but that’s not likely to happen for another 10 to 15 years, says Gulfstream, which is actively but quietly studying the concept.

“The earliest will be 2025-2030,” says Dan Nale, SVP for programs, engineering and test. “That’s the earliest the ICAO process can change the rules to allow it.” Meanwhile Gulfstream, which has conducted more studies into supersonic flight and mitigation of the sonic boom than any other business jet manufacturer, continues to carry out original research, participate in regulatory issues and undertake paper studies.

“We’re doing a lot of the preliminary design studies,” says Nale, who believes the sonic boom and engine emissions from flying that fast at altitude will be the two major issues to overcome. Next step is for NASA to fly its proposed supersonic demonstrator, on which it is working with Lockheed Martin. “Gulfstream is involved as part of NASA’s consulting review panel,” he adds.

Gulfstream believes the aircraft must be shaped to minimize the boom, and to that end it earlier test-flew an extending nose on a NASA F-15. That Pinocchio-like proboscis is now on display in the lobby of the company’s advanced acoustics lab in Savannah.

#Lockhead #NASA #Aviation #SuperSonic #FighterJets #Charles_Dalberto #Perla_Group

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Freedom soars over Adriatic Sea - Charles D'Alberto

AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy–F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to the 555th Fighter Squadron participated in a training flight over the Adriatic Sea on Oct. 25, 2016. Pilots from the 555th and 510th Fighter Squadrons train regularly to ensure they can deter aggression, defend U.S. and NATO interests, and develop Aviano through superior combat air power. The two squadrons fly more than 20,000 hours a year combined to ensure they can provide combat airpower to U.S. and NATO combatant commanders and the National Command Authority to meet national security objectives.

#F_16 #Adriatic #NATO #Military #FighterJets #Aviation #Charles_Dalberto #Perla_Group

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Arrest after Laser Strike of Police Helicopter, WA – Charles D’Alberto

Charles D’Alberto

Just before 1am this morning tomorrow, a green laser beam was pointed at the police helicopter as it was conducting patrols of the Butler area.

The helicopter crew were able to pinpoint the location where the beam emanated from and officers from the Northern Regional Operations Group attended the identified residence in Butler, WA Police say.

A 28 year old man from Butler has been charged with Cause Fear with Laser or Light to People in Conveyance and Possession of a Controlled Weapon. He is due to appear before the Joondalup Magistrates Court on 21 November 2016.

A 26 year old man from Alkimos and a 23 year old man from West Perth have been summonsed to appear in court at a later date on the offence of Possession of a Controlled Weapon.

#Helicopter #Laser #Australia #Aviation #Charles_Dalberto #Perla_Group

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Russia’s New Look Mi-28NM Attack Helicopter to Tote New, Better Missiles - Charles D'Alberto

Russia’s upgraded Mi-28NM Night Hunter helicopter gunships will soon bristle with an array of longer-range guided antitank missiles.“

We are updating Ataka and Khrizantema missiles for the Mi-28NMs to increase their range of target detection, lock on and destruction. The helicopter’s onboard fire control system will likewise be adapted for the use of these new missiles,” Valery Kashin, chief designer of the Kolomna-based Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau, said.

The Night Hunters will be able to use their new weapons round the clock and in any weather. For example, the modernized Ataka guided antitank missiles will have their range increased to 8 kilometers from 6 now. Early this month Russia tested out an upgraded version of the Mi-28 attack helicopter.

Dubbed Mi-28NM (NATO reporting name “Havoc”), it features a 360-degree radar and advanced weapons guidance system that ensures faster target acquisition and its downloading to the helicopter’s fire control system.

Unlike its predecessor, the Mi-28NM can be piloted also by the gunner and is better suited for the use of high-precision ordnance. The Mi-28NM is a modernized version of the Mi-28N Night Hunter attack helicopter that is being upgraded to a fifth-generation aircraft, which has been in development since 2008.

#Mi_28NM #Helicopter #Attack #Aviation #Charles_Dalberto #Perla_Group

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