Ahead of the InterDrone conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, Earth Networks, which provides weather intelligence platforms, announced the launch of Sferic DroneFlight, which is an “advanced predictive weather offering specifically designed for rapidly growing commercial drone markets” within public safety, oil and gas, and construction, to name a few. According to Earth Networks, Sferic DroneFlight delivers “hyperlocal wind forecasts for any latitude and longitude in the world.” This is significant for commercial UAS operations, as this platform answers the need for advanced weather data and helps with various aspects of UAS flights.

A few weeks after introducing its FlightWave Edge UAS, FlightWave Aerospace Systems, Inc. has now introduced its hydrogen-powered Jupiter-H2 UAS, which is the company’s second offering to the UAS community. Thanks to a partnership with a UK-based fuel cell company called Intelligent Energy, FlightWave was able to equip the Jupiter-H2 UAS with the hydrogen fuel cell technology that powers the aircraft. The hydrogen fuel cell technology gives the UAS, which uses a “narrow-profile 70 cm airframe, with a high-thrust power plant consisting of eight motors driving cross-flowing fan blades,” several distinct features, such as its heavy-lifting capability. FlightWave notes that extra energy and lighter energy means more power to lift and carry the respective sensors of a user.

In an effort to “improve safety for troopers on the ground and cut down the time roads are closed for crash scene investigations,” a handful of members of the Washington state patrol is learning to fly UAS so that they can investigate traffic accidents from the sky. While some law enforcement agencies in Washington already use UAS, this is the first time that this technology has been used by state troopers. According to Q13 Fox News, the UAS, which are manufactured by Lockheed Martin, will give detectives a “bird’s eye view of crash scenes,” and once the data is uploaded into a laptop, it will provide investigators with precise measurements.

After receiving the latest version of the RQ-7BV2 Shadow UAS, the North Carolina National Guard’s Detachment 1, D Co. 236th Brigade Engineer Battalion has completed New Equipment Training (NET) near Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which took place from July 17 to August 25. Without the limitation of time that they typically face on most drill weekends, where it takes most of a day to set up the airfield, the soldiers were able to use the NET to learn about the newest version of the UAS, which looks similar to the previous model, but has a number of upgrades including longer flight durations.