Wed, Apr 13, 2011
Company Says Contract Demonstrates Reliability And Qualities Of
The UAS
Cassidian has been notified by the French defence procurement
agency (DGA) of the confirmation of additional orders for DRAC air
vehicles and systems for the French Army. The DRAC mini-UAV
close-range reconnaissance system is intended to enhance the
intelligence seeking and reconnaissance capabilities of front-line
army units.
Artist's Rendering
The short-range DRAC UAV system has been developed for the
French Army by Cassidian Air Systems, in partnership with
SurveyCopter, as was the Tracker system from which it is derived.
Each DRAC system consists of two UAVs equipped with payloads, a
compact ground station and an automatic tracking antenna. It can be
packed into two personal backpacks, thus allowing entirely
autonomous missions. Tracker is one of the mini-UAV systems that
offer the best performance available on the market.
On completion of its industrial qualification, which was
achieved in 2007, the DRAC system was granted type certification in
2010 by the French airworthiness authorities, who are considered to
be among the most stringent in the world. DRAC is currently the
only mini UAV in France to have received such certification. The
DRAC system has been in operational service since October 2010 with
the French Army units deployed in Afghanistan.
Artist's Rendering
"We are very proud to have won this new order which is a pledge
of the DGA's and French Army's renewed confidence in us. This
contract is a demonstration of the recognised reliability and
qualities of the DRAC system in service with operational Army units
in Afghanistan. The feedback of experience from field operations
has enabled us, thanks to the close collaboration with our
customer, to continue to significantly improve the performance of
this mini-UAV which is confirming its position as one of the most
robust available, under the severe environmental and operating
conditions encountered," declared Nicolas Chamussy, Senior Vice
President of Cassidian Air Systems and Head of Unmanned Aerial
Systems.
"The addition of the feedback of operational experience has
stimulated the development of skills required for the integration
of new advances to our systems, an essential aspect for the future
of the family of drones which Cassidian is able to offer to its
customers," said Christine Jauffret, Head of the DRAC and Tracker
programs.
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