Also: Airborne-Flight Training, Additional MQ-25 Aircraft, UA Traffic Management Pilot Program, Abionica Solutions-UAV Navigation

Transportation Secretary Chao recently announced that the FAA is awarding $2.6 million in research, education, and training grants to universities that make up the agency’s Air Transportation Center of Excellence (COE) for UAS, which is also known as Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE).

The grants are designed to advance specific goals and projects. The U.S. Army has begun evaluating tactical unmanned aircraft systems intended to replace the venerable RQ-7 Shadow drone, which has been in service since the early 2000s. The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division conducted the first soldier-operated flight on April 7, flying an Arcturus Jump 20, a 210-pound aircraft with an 18-foot wingspan that is capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL). It's also quieter than the Shadow. As part of a joint flight demonstration with NASA, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) flew its SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) in the skies above Southern California on April 3. Since 2014, GA-ASI and NASA have worked together to prove the safety of flying large UAS in the National Airspace System (NAS). GA-ASI was selected to participate in NASA’s Systems Integration and  Operationalization (SIO) activity, which includes multiple flight demonstrations that focus on different types of UAS and their respective flight environments. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne-Unmanned!!!

Airborne-Unmanned 004.15.20 is chock full of info in this Weekly News Episode, Tuesday, April 15th, 2020... Presented by Aero-TV veteran videographer and Airborne Hosts Sophie Hurlock, Brianne Cross, Christopher Odom, and Laura Hutson, and is supported by ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell, Chief Videographer Nathan Cremisino, and Aero-Journalist Tom Patton, this episode covers:

• FAA Awarding $2.6 Million In Grants To Universities To Advance Drone Ops
• Army Unit Begins Testing Arcturus UAS As Service Ponders Shadow Replacement
• GA-ASI Flies Skyguardian RPA In NAS Above Southern California As Part Of Joint Demo With NASA
• Check out the new Airborne Program -- Airborne Flight Training!
• Boeing Awarded U.S. Navy Contract Modification For Additional MQ-25 Aircraft
• FAA Announces Two New Participants For Unmanned Aircraft Traffic Management Pilot Program
• Abionica Solutions, UAV Navigation Work Together For UAV Certification

Get Comprehensive, Real-Time, 24/7 coverage of the latest aviation and aerospace stories anytime, at aero-news.net. And be sure to join us again next week for the next edition of "Airborne-Unmanned" here on Aero-TV. Thanks for watching. See you, again, next week!

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