Bluezoo
04-11-2005, 05:13 PM
Germany To Buy 115 Small UAVs
By MARTIN AGÜERA, MUNICH
Germany has agreed to buy 115 Aladin unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from EMT Ingenieurgesellschaft, moving the military toward network-centric warfare and the Penzberg firm toward its goal of cracking the world market.
The UAVs, which will cost just under 25 million euros ($32 million) under a contract signed in late March, will beef up the German Army’s battlefield surveillance capabilities, said a Ministry of Defense (MoD) official in Berlin.
The Army already has tried out six Aladins in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Germany.
The Aladin, which has a wingspan of about 1.5 meters, is launched by hand and controlled by two soldiers using a suitcase-sized ground station — basically a laptop computer and an antenna.
It has a combat radius of only five kilometers, but can stay aloft for up to four hours. Its small size and nonmetallic construction makes it tough to spot by eye or radar.
“This UAV should give our soldiers in combat the chance to look around the area and provide us with real-time information,” said the MoD official.
The Army intends to allot a pair of Aladins and one ground station to each pair of Fennek reconnaissance vehicles.
“Along with the Fennek vehicles, the system provides real-time reconnaissance and therefore plays an important role in the restructuring of the German Army,” said Thomas Meuter, a Bonn-based defense analyst.
Launch Pad?
The new contract may boost EMT’s efforts to export its small UAVs.
“They have entered the niche between model aircraft and drones,” Meuter said. “Although it is a small company, with about 20 people, they produce high tech.”
Besides Aladin, the firm makes the Luna, a slightly larger, ramp-launched aircraft that Germany has used for several years. Army officials have praised Luna’s success as a reconnaissance UAV in Kosovo, but the firm so far has encountered little success in sales efforts in Asia and elsewhere in Europe.
“EMT’s Luna has worked well for the Bundeswehr for a number of years, but they have not succeeded in making much headway in the export market, although other countries, including Norway, have shown interest,” said Christopher Cradock, a UAV expert with London-based Frost & Sullivan.
Belgium, the Netherlands and Pakistan may be interested, said one Berlin-based defense industry source, who wished not to be named.
EMT officials would not comment on the contract or on marketing prospects.
Small UAVs are gaining interest from various militaries due to their low cost-high output scheme, said a second expert....
For the full article, please go to:
http://defensenews.com/story.php?F=763557&C=europe
By MARTIN AGÜERA, MUNICH
Germany has agreed to buy 115 Aladin unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from EMT Ingenieurgesellschaft, moving the military toward network-centric warfare and the Penzberg firm toward its goal of cracking the world market.
The UAVs, which will cost just under 25 million euros ($32 million) under a contract signed in late March, will beef up the German Army’s battlefield surveillance capabilities, said a Ministry of Defense (MoD) official in Berlin.
The Army already has tried out six Aladins in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Germany.
The Aladin, which has a wingspan of about 1.5 meters, is launched by hand and controlled by two soldiers using a suitcase-sized ground station — basically a laptop computer and an antenna.
It has a combat radius of only five kilometers, but can stay aloft for up to four hours. Its small size and nonmetallic construction makes it tough to spot by eye or radar.
“This UAV should give our soldiers in combat the chance to look around the area and provide us with real-time information,” said the MoD official.
The Army intends to allot a pair of Aladins and one ground station to each pair of Fennek reconnaissance vehicles.
“Along with the Fennek vehicles, the system provides real-time reconnaissance and therefore plays an important role in the restructuring of the German Army,” said Thomas Meuter, a Bonn-based defense analyst.
Launch Pad?
The new contract may boost EMT’s efforts to export its small UAVs.
“They have entered the niche between model aircraft and drones,” Meuter said. “Although it is a small company, with about 20 people, they produce high tech.”
Besides Aladin, the firm makes the Luna, a slightly larger, ramp-launched aircraft that Germany has used for several years. Army officials have praised Luna’s success as a reconnaissance UAV in Kosovo, but the firm so far has encountered little success in sales efforts in Asia and elsewhere in Europe.
“EMT’s Luna has worked well for the Bundeswehr for a number of years, but they have not succeeded in making much headway in the export market, although other countries, including Norway, have shown interest,” said Christopher Cradock, a UAV expert with London-based Frost & Sullivan.
Belgium, the Netherlands and Pakistan may be interested, said one Berlin-based defense industry source, who wished not to be named.
EMT officials would not comment on the contract or on marketing prospects.
Small UAVs are gaining interest from various militaries due to their low cost-high output scheme, said a second expert....
For the full article, please go to:
http://defensenews.com/story.php?F=763557&C=europe