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Sentient’s ViDAR system gives unmanned aircraft a ‘find’ function for the first time

Sentient Vision Systems has signed an exclusive global distribution agreement with Insitu for the ViDAR (Visual Detection and Ranging) software to be incorporated within the company's unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

Insitu will incorporate the ViDAR payload into its fleet of unmanned systems, beginning with its ScanEagle unmanned aircraft. The ViDAR software is built into the ScanEagle payload by Hood Technologies.

ViDAR is a wide area autonomous detection system for electro-optic imagery in the maritime domain enabling coverage over 80 times the ocean’s surface compared with existing electro-optic sensors. ViDAR transforms the utility of tactical UAS’s by giving them a ‘find’ function for the first time. Operators typically must rely on larger, more expensive aircraft to detect objects in the ocean; ViDAR provides the find capability in a smaller, more cost-effective payload.

“The inability to find objects on the ocean’s surface has placed a huge limitation on the utility of tactical UAS.” said Simon Olsen, Sentient’s Director of Business Development, Strategy and Partnerships. “Fast boats, rubber rafts or even a person in the water – ViDAR finds them all – and does so at a fraction of the size and cost of existing technologies.”

Sentient’s ViDAR software autonomously detects any object on the surface of the ocean, providing the ground control station with an image and location coordinate of each object detected in real time. In demonstrations, ViDAR has autonomously detected a fishing vessel at 14 nautical miles, a fast boat at more than 9 nm and even the spout of a whale at 1.5 nm from the aircraft.

Air Canada's first African route lands in Casablanca

The arrival of flight AC1936 at Casablanca's Mohammed V International Airport on Saturday marked the successful launch of non-stop service between Montreal and Casablanca, Air Canada's first African route and the only scheduled non-stop service to North Africa by a North American carrier. Flights between Montreal and the famed Moroccan city will be operated until Oct. 29 by Air Canada Rouge with a 282-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. Service is scheduled to resume on May 1, 2017. Air Canada Rouge is the airlines leisure carrier.

On June 16, Air Canada will inaugurate new international services from Montreal to Lyon. Air Canada will also launch new international services between Toronto-London-Gatwick, Toronto-Prague, Toronto-Budapest, Toronto-Glasgow, Toronto-Warsaw, Toronto-Seoul, Vancouver-Brisbane and Vancouver-Dublin.

Air Canada also announced new seasonal Air Canada Rouge service from Toronto to London-Gatwick, Prague, Budapest, Glasgow and Warsaw, Montreal-Casablanca and Vancouver-Dublin.

Southwest Airlines celebrates inaugural service at Long Beach Airport

Southwest Airlines Co., the carrier offering more seats than any other carrier each day to, from, and within California, embarked upon a new chapter in a faithful 35-year partnership with California travelers Sunday. Southwest celebrates inaugural service at Long Beach Airport, the carrier's 98^th city served, now offering service in all five major commercial airports in the L.A. Basin with four flights a day to and from the Bay Area nonstop between Long Beach and Oakland.

"Southwest's arrival in Long Beach brings much needed competition not just with our unique value and unparalleled customer service, but with unmatched access to the rest of the country through our Oakland gateway," said Paul Cullen, Southwest Airlines' Vice President of Corporate Planning and Financial Planning and Analysis, at a morning news conference. "The initial schedule for Long Beach offers long reach with easy connections to 19 cities through our four flights a day to Oakland."

Beginning Sunday, Southwest offers a peak summer schedule of nearly 60 flights a day in each direction between Oakland and Southern California's five airports in the greater L.A. region, plus San Diego. Last week, Southwest filed an application for route authority to add new daily international service later this year from LAX to Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos in Mexico, alongside daily service to Costa Rica which began in April. Southwest also flies internationally from John Wayne Airport in Orange County to Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, and San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos.

Video: Canada's elite military aerobatic team visit Udvar-Hazy Center

The Canadian Armed Forces’ Snowbirds flew by the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in preparation for an all-day event at the museum. Officially known as the Canadian Forces 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, they are Canada’s elite military aerobatic flight demonstration team. The team was at the Udvar-Hazy Center on Wednesday where visitors were able to get an up-close look at the Canadair CT-114 Tutors that the Snowbirds fly.

Poll: Americans select new face for Mount Rushmore

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of America's National Park System, Expedia.com commissioned a study of American attitudes toward which American president they would choose to add to Mount Rushmore, if given the chance.

The study was conducted from Feb. 26-29, and included responses from 1,039 American adults.

Americans were presented with a range of modern American presidents and asked to select the one they would choose to add to Mount Rushmore, alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the runaway winner, chosen by 29 percent of Americans.

1. Franklin D. Roosevelt - 29%
2. John F. Kennedy - 21%
3. Ronald Reagan - 19%
4. Barack Obama - 9%
5. Dwight Eisenhower – 8%
6. Harry S. Truman - 5%
7. William Clinton – 4%
8. George H.W. Bush – 3%
9. George W. Bush - 2%

Americans also were given the option of writing in the name of a famous person - not a president - who they would like to see added to the monument. The most common recommendation was Martin Luther King, Jr., who was named by 11 percent of Americans. The top five non-presidential Mount Rushmore nominees include:

1. Martin Luther King, Jr. - 11%
2. Benjamin Franklin- 7%
3. Albert Einstein - 3%
4. Jesus Christ - 2%
5. Donald Trump - 2%

Mickey Mouse ranked sixth, and Beyoncé came in eighth.

When asked which national park they consider to be their favorite, Yellowstone won the honor, cited by 27 percent of Americans. The Grand Canyon came in second, cited by 20 percent of Americans. The top five favorite American national parks are:

1. Yellowstone - 27%
2. Grand Canyon - 20%
3. Great Smoky Mountains - 18%
4. Rocky Mountain – 16%
5. Yosemite - 10%

When asked to name the "most beautiful" national park, the same five parks were cited, only in a different order.

1. Grand Canyon - 25%
2. Yellowstone - 21%
3. Yosemite – 20%
4. Great Smoky Mountains - 12%
5. Rocky Mountain – 9%

When asked which national parks landscape, monument, or feature Americans would "most like to take a selfie in front of," the top five selections were:

1. Mount Rushmore - 30%
2. Grand Canyon – 25%
3. Old Faithful - 18%
4. Lincoln Memorial – 13%
5. Great Smoky Mountains – 7%

US aerospace and defense exports expected to increase by 3.2 percent in 2016

Gross exports in the U.S. aerospace and defense sector increased by $5 billion in 2015, a 58.9 percent increase in the last five years, according to Deloitte's "U.S.Aerospace & Defense Export Competitiveness Study."

Looking forward, the U.S. aerospace and defense sector's gross exports are expected to increase by 3.2 percent in 2016. This is largely due to an increased pipeline of defense platform products announced and expected for foreign military sales by U.S. defense contractors

"The U.S. aerospace and defense sector was the largest contributor to America's net exports during the 2010 to 2015 period," said Tom Captain, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP. “The sector is also a top employer, taxpayer and contributor to the nation's gross domestic product, making it key to U.S. manufacturing competitiveness."

During the 2010 to 2015 period analyzed in the survey, the U.S. aerospace and defense sector was responsible for the following:

• Sector accounted for 9.5 percent of total U.S. exports in 2015, with the sector's contribution increasing from 7.1 percent of total exports in 2010.
• U.S. accounted for 33 percent of global defense exports in 2015.
• Total aerospace and defense gross exports in 2015 were $143.3 billion, a significant increase of 58.9 percent over the last five years.
• China was the largest aerospace and defense export market for the U.S. in 2015, followed by the U.K. and France.

The top five exporting states - Washington, California, Connecticut, Texas and Georgia - accounted for about 61 percent of the total aerospace and defense sector exports in 2015. Washington state also showed a strong 109.4 percent increase in exports in 2015 compared to 2010 as the state that continues to have the largest presence in the commercial aircraft manufacturing subsector.