PAS 2011: Hermes 450 customers sought
As the UK begins to roll out its Watchkeeper capability over the next 18 months, Thales has turned its thoughts to what to do with the Hermes 450s that it has been providing to the UK under a service arrangement.
Nick Miller. UAV business development manager for Thales, told Shephard that there would be 'numerous' Thales-owned H450s available. The British Army expects to have replaced all the H450s currently in Afghanistan with Watchkeeper by late 2012.
Miller said that the company has had a lot of interest in the H450s although it was unlikely that any would stay in Afghanistan. The fleet has done some 48000 flight hours to date and will be brought back to the UK for assessment.
However, the company believes it is unlikely to sign up a customer for the H450s next year, but Miller said there was firm interest. One of the areas that is gathering a lot of interest is the use of the UAVs for homeland security.
Questions remain as to whether Thales will look to dispose of the UAVs or offer them under a service arrangement. Any disposal of the H450s might come up against competition from the original manufacturer Elbit Systems.
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
Navantia, SAES and Perseo to jointly develop line of uncrewed underwater vehicles
At FEINDEF in Madrid, Navantia, SAES and Perseo announced an intention to develop a line of uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs).
-
British Army eyes new small armed UAS capability
The UK MoD has released a request for information on small armed UAS which could be used by the British Army.
-
General Atomics delivers first new build extended range MQ-9A to US Marine Corps
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) has delivered the first new build MQ-9 Extended Range (ER) to the US Marine Corps (USMC).
-
Highway landing opens door to future MQ-9 Reaper capabilities
The US has landed an MQ-9 Reaper UAV on a highway for the first time as part of Exercise Agile Chariot.
-
SOF Week 2023: AeroVironment introduces VTOL kit for Puma AE UAS (video)
AeroVironment has introduced the Puma VTOL kit, designed for plug-and-play integration into Puma 2 AE and Puma 3 AE small uncrewed aircraft systems.