NATO procurement agency orders Puma 3 AE
AeroVironment will provide its Puma 3 AE tactical UAS and initial spares packages to the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), under a batch of four orders worth a total of $11.53 million.
The orders are part of a three-year baseline contract received from NSPA in January 2020.
AeroVironment received the orders in October and December 2020, with delivery anticipated by June 2021.
‘The contract includes an option for two additional years of logistics support for Raven, Wasp and Puma tactical UAS,’ AeroVironment announced on 6 April.
It added: ‘The total potential value of the multi-year contract is $80 million, encompassing the procurement and sustainment of AeroVironment tactical UAS employed by the defence forces of several NATO countries.’
According to Shephard Defence Insight, the hand-launched Puma 3 AE is equipped with the Mantis i45 gimbalfor reconnaissance and surveillance operations.
Puma 3 AE has a wingspan of 2.8m and MTOW of 6.8kg, with endurance of 2.5h. The UAV has a range of 20km with a standard antenna and up to 60km with the AeroVironment Long-Range Tracking Antenna.
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