U-TacS, awarded $70 million contract by Thales for Watchkeeper maintenance and logistic support
Elbit Systems Ltd. announced today that UAS Tactical Systems Ltd. (U-TacS) - its Leicester-based joint company with Thales UK, has been awarded a $70 million contract by Thales UK to provide Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) services for the Watchkeeper project to be undertaken over the next three years.
The Watchkeeper project, one of the largest Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) projects in the world, is designed to provide the UK armed forces with essential Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities. The project's prime contractor is Thales UK. U-TacS is in charge of development, integration, test flights and manufacture of the UAS' sub-systems, including the unmanned aircraft, the ground control station, Elbit Systems Electro-Optics Elop's D-CoMPASS payload and other systems.
In conjunction with its role on the Watchkeeper project, U-TacS also provides the Hermes 450, under an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) program, in which the UK armed forces operate Hermes 450 UAS to support its forces deployed in Afghanistan. Hermes 450 UAS have flown more than 30,000 operational hours in support of these ongoing operations.
U-TacS is held 51% by Elbit Systems with the balance being owned by Thales UK.
Source: Elbit Systems
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
Iranian UAV threat leaves Israel’s defence industry searching for answers
Iran has continued to invest heavily in its drone-building capacity, supplying Russia and Iranian proxies throughout the Middle East, leading defence experts in Israel to call for more defensive solutions be developed to deter the threat from UAVs.
-
Emgepron and Tidewise team up to develop first ‘made-in-Brazil’ USV
Brazil's Emgepron and Tidewise have partnered to construct the Suppressor unmanned surface vessel by 2025 amid potential interest from the Brazilian Navy.
-
Autonomous navigation drives UUVs proliferation in the Indo-Pacific
The US Department of Defence has teamed up with Anduril Industries to develop advanced AI-driven long-range uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs), countering China’s escalating UUV advancements.
-
Israel’s SpearUAV positions Viper loitering munitions for tactical and strategic functions
SpearUAV’s Viper family of loitering munitions has been developed to provide effects across multiple domains.
-
UK unveils $5.7 billion uncrewed systems plan with an eye on Ukraine
The UK has outlined a strategy on how it will spend billions of dollars on uncrewed systems over the next decade as it transitions to a more mixed force of crewed and uncrewed platforms.