UAV

Ukraine Becomes Proxy Battlefield for Turkish and Iranian Drones

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become something of a proxy battlefield for drones from Turkey and Iran. Ukrainian defense forces have made spectacular use of Turkey’s Bayraktar drones, which have become one of the hottest military products in the world, while Iran is (not very) secretly believed to be supplying Russia with its Mohajer and Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

7 Bayraktar Akinci unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), are brought together as a fleet at Fligh

Top Intel Official: Iranian Drone Was Retaliation for Mossad Stealing Nuke Files

TEL AVIV – The explosives-laden Iranian drone that infiltrated Israeli airspace in February was a possible retaliation for the Mossad’s theft of Iran’s nuclear weapons archive, a senior Israeli intelligence official told Ynet, adding that the few Iranians who were privy to the existence of the trove attempted to recapture it immediately from Israeli operatives.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presents material on Iranian nuclear weapons dev

Israel Intercepts Drone Approaching from Syria

The IDF launched a Patriot missile on Saturday, which successfully intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) coming from Syria approaching Israeli airspace near the Golan Heights border. The Patriot was launched from the area surrounding the northern city of ​​Safed, with residents of the area reportedly hearing explosions.

Patriot air defense

Pentagon: Spy Drone Flights over U.S. Have Been Safe, Lawful, and Rare

In response to a Freedom of Information Act Request, the Pentagon has released a report from March 2015 that describes surveillance drone flights over the United States. The report says fewer than 20 such flights were made between 2006 and 2015, all of them for “non-military” missions, although the exact details of those missions were not revealed.

israeli drones

FAA to Announce Registration Rules for Recreational Drones

With a constant string of near misses in airports across the nation and conflicts between neighbors over allegations of spying, federal regulators have been reviewing possible rules for privately owned, recreational unmanned aerial vehicles, often called drones. Now regulators have announced plans to force owners to register their devices with the federal government.

Brendon Thorne/Getty Images/AFP

Turkey Threatens to Shoot Down Planes That Violate Its Airspace

On Friday, Turkey shot down a drone aircraft that violated its airspace. U.S. officials believe it was a Russian drone, although the Russians deny losing any of their equipment. Saturday brought a warning from Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that his country is prepared to fire on manned aircraft, as well.

Russian-jet-fighter-ap

First U.S. Package Delivered by Drone

The technology for drone delivery services is ready to roll – only legal barriers and public perception remain. Public and legal resistance to flying drones over sparsely populated areas is likely to erode first, although Sweeney optimistically predicted urban delivery services could be approved within two years, accompanied by the creation of “an entirely new division of Air Traffic Control” coming online to handle drone flight plans.

AP/Gregory Bull

Report: Sudan Army Claims It Shot Down Israeli Drone

Sudan’s army reportedly claimed that it shot down an Israeli drone that infiltrated its air space, denying Arab media reports that the unnamed aerial vehicle (UAV) struck a weapons facility near the Sudanese city of Omdurman.

The Associated Press

Mystery Deepens in Death of US Contractor in Saudi Arabia

Moments before he reportedly died in his Saudi Arabian hotel under suspicious circumstances, American defense contractor Christopher Cramer texted, “I’m at the Marakim [sic] Tabuk Hotel in Saudi. I think something bad is going to happen to me tonight. Please contact state ddept [sic] ASAP. Bad things were said.”

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