March 28, 2005

Tiny, unmanned surveillance planes are being pressed into action for reconnaissance over Katrina-ravaged New Orleans in what defense contractors call the biggest civilian deployment ever for the technology.

Boeing’s Mesa rotorcraft unit is experimenting with turning an aging Vietnam War-era helicopter into an unmanned aerial vehicle that can be controlled from the modern Apache Longbow to attack terrorist targets.

Boeing engineers have completed the first unmanned flight of the “Little Bird” aerial vehicle under a program that is modernizing an older model Boeing helicopter by giving it unmanned capabilities.

 Boeing said Tuesday a prototype of the latest version of the Apache attack helicopter demonstrated an enhanced ability to control a separate unmanned drone during a test flight June 8 over the Arizona desert.

WASHINGTON – Drones numbering in the tens of thousands will be in the skies by 2030, the Federal Aviation Administration predicts. But where some may fear precision weapons or flying spy cameras, Steve Markofski sees flying tractors.

March 21, 2005

Jack Rutherford, an engineer for The Boeing Co., had an idea for an unmanned aerial vehicle that he wanted to build for himself and perhaps sell to the U.S. Army.

Jack Rutherford, an engineer for The Boeing Co., had an idea for an unmanned aerial vehicle that he wanted to build for himself and perhaps sell to the U.S. Army.

You’ve probably never heard of Restricted Area 2310.

Boeing has started production of the first A160T Hummingbird being built at its Mesa site near Falcon Field.

Every war produces its breakthrough in military technology, and the contributions of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan may well be the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Stephen Rayleigh and Matt Lyon thought they were done with careers in drones after they left the Army in 2010 and enrolled at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott.

WASHINGTON — In a rare moment of bipartisanship Tuesday, the House approved $600 million to pay for more unmanned surveillance drones and about 1,500 more agents along the troubled Mexican border.

Border Patrol agents will multiply and unmanned aircraft will scan the desert for illegal immigrants under a new effort officials said Tuesday would bring "operational control" to the Arizona-Mexico border.

Arizona defense contractors celebrated Veterans Day on Friday by demonstrating next-generation military technologies they are developing for the U.S. Army.