Thales Copyright WB Electronics and Thales unveiled today at Poland’s MSPO exhibition, their exclusive tactical unmanned aircraft syste...
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| Thales Copyright |
Based on the combat-proven unarmed Watchkeeper system delivered to the British Army, the WB Electronics/Thales solution will integrate its surveillance capability with a strike capability of the Thales FreeFall Lightweight Multi-role Missile (FFLMM) together on the platform.
Commanders can fully understand and exploit their environment using the high-performance Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability. In a fast changing environment, the solution can dynamically re-task to an effects-based capability allowing them to make faster, better informed decisions during critical target engagement.
Building on the partnership announced in July, the system will not only deliver the right capability, but will deliver the system through full partnership with the wider Polish industry. Polish industry has extensive expertise in building unmanned aircraft. Many Polish solutions, such as the FlyEye offered by the WB Group, are currently being used by the Polish Armed Forces.
Through this unique partnership, WB Electronics and Thales will be able to establish a sovereign capability for the Polish Armed forces. Critical technologies developed by Polish engineers could also be exported to other countries in the future.
The Watchkeeper is based on the Israeli Elbit systems Hermes 450 UAV. The UAV has a modular design and can fly in all weather conditions, even under zero visibility.
The Watchkeeper has a fully autonomous mission control system and Autonomous Take off and Landing System (ATOLS), which minimizes operator burden, and reduces manning and training costs.
The Polish requirement is for 12 such systems, with each system consisting 4-5 tactical UAVs.
