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DroneUp inks deal with Walmart, acquires AirMap
Virginia Beach-based DroneUp LLC is making moves at the end of the year, with a new partnership with Walmart Inc. and the acquisition of Santa Monica, California-based AirMap Inc., a company specializing in air traffic management software for drones. DroneUp and Walmart will have the first multisite commercial drone delivery operations, or hubs, in northwest […]
SAIC lands $90M Air Force contract
Reston-based Fortune 500 government contractor Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has been awarded a $90 million contract to help protect Department of Defense Combatant Commands from small unmanned aircraft systems. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Air Force and its Life Cycle and Management Center, Force Protection Division, the company announced in a Tuesday news […]
DroneUp names chief strategy officer
Virginia Beach-based DroneUp LLC announced Tuesday it has hired Carl Smit as its chief strategy officer. In his new role, he will advise CEO Tom Walker and DroneUp’s senior leadership team to set the strategic direction of the company and focus on growing its retail drone delivery offerings. He will also oversee corporate development including […]
HII acquires unmanned systems business
Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced Monday it has acquired Virginia Beach-based Spatial Integrated Systems Inc.’s (SIS) autonomy business. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the acquisition expands HII’s unmanned systems capabilities, according to a company statement. Approximately 50 SIS employees will join unmanned systems business[...]
Northrop Grumman lands potential $4.8B Air Force drone modernization
Northrop Grumman Corp. has received a potential $4.8 billion contract to update, refurbish and sustain the U.S. Air Force’s fleet of RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial systems. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Falls Church-based company includes task orders for specific UAS modernization services in line with the Air Force’s Global Hawk program, the Department[...]
Huntington Ingalls to establish unmanned systems center in Hampton
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday that Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the nation’s largest military shipbuilding company, will establish an unmanned systems center in Hampton, which will create more than 250 jobs. “Huntington Ingalls Industries is a national leader in advanced manufacturing, and this investment is a powerful testament to Virginia’s workers[...]
Va. tops annual tech business rankings
Virginia topped the charts in many categories of Business Facilities’ 16th Annual State Rankings Report released last week — especially for technology. This year, Virginia was ranked No. 1 for its cybersecurity leaders, digital infrastructure and unmanned aerial systems and No. 2 for its business climate. This was the first year that the national business […]
Unmanned Systems Association of Va. names board chair
The New College Institute in Martinsville announced Tuesday that interim Executive Director Karen Jackson has been elected as board chair of the Unmanned Systems Association of Virginia (USAV). The association is a nonprofit coalition that promotes legal and regulatory framework for growth in the unmanned systems industry in Virginia — the state with the eighth-largest […]
Drones tested for emergency medical deliveries
The sky’s the limit when it comes to COVID-19-related solutions. After being approached by the state government, the Herndon-based Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) partnered with Virginia Beach-based DroneUp to test how drones can assist medical professionals in delivering test samples and personal protective equipment in no-contact, emergency situations, DroneUp announced this week.[...]
Va. Beach-based DroneUp acquires AeroVista Innovations
Virginia Beach-based end-to-end drone pilot service company DroneUp LLC announced Thursday it has acquired Glenview, Illinois-based AeroVista Innovations LLC (AVI). The merged company will rebrand as The DroneUp Training Academy. DroneUp acquired AVI’s assets, employees and customer contracts. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. AVI was founded in 2016 and provides in-ho[...]
An aerial view of drone industry during COVID-19
Virginia Business virtually sat down with Tom Walker, founder and CEO of DroneUp, a Virginia Beach-based company that provides end-to-end aerial data services to the commercial sector, government and pilots to get a feel for how his drone company has adapted to doing business during the coronavirus crisis. This is part of an ongoing series […]
