Neel Mehta
Northrop Grumman will sponsor a two-day flying event Wednesday as part of the final round of competition for unmanned aerial systems developed by university students in the U.K.
The company said Tuesday contenders from 13 universities will take part in the 2015 Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ UAS Universities challenge to be held at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome and Proving Ground near Leicester, England.
“Unmanned capabilities have been transformational in the past decade and have a wide range of proven applications not just in defense but also in areas of environmental monitoring, humanitarian relief, search and rescue and disaster relief operation,” said Andrew Tyler, Northrop’s chief executive for Europe.
The fly-off exercise will evaluate the capability of each UAS to search target areas, maneuver through waypoints and deliver packages, according to the company.
“By sponsoring and mentoring university students in UAS technology projects such as this, we hope to help them learn practical engineering skills for industry and inspire them to become the country’s future engineers, scientists and technicians,†Tyler said.
