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12 May 17. New Heavy Lift WATT 300 Multirotor Tethered Drone. Drone Aviation Holding Corp. announced that it is unveiling the new WATT 300 heavy-lift tethered multirotor drone and an upgraded military WASP aerostat platform at the 2017 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC).SOFIC is being held next week from May 15ththrough May 18th at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, FL.
SOFIC is the defense industry’s premier event for members of the Special Operations Forces (SOF), focusing on advancing defense industry technology solutions and building the global SOF alliance, attracting over 9,000 government and industry attendees. Company team members will be hosting informational meetings at booth (#1350) and will be displaying the Company’s full range of tethered aerial products including the upgraded WASP tactical aerostat platform and the WATT 200 electric tethered drone. Also on display will be the first unveiling of the new WATT 300 heavy-lift multirotor drone which delivers enhanced multi-mission capabilities thanks to its ability to support the same advanced Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) sensor payloads utilized by the WASP aerostat platform. Drone Aviation’s WASP and WATT are intended to provide semi-persistent, mobile intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (“ISR”) for various military, law enforcement and commercial security applications.
“This year marks our third anniversary at SOFIC, the premier annual gathering of the SOF community. Building upon our recent military contract awards and the growing interest in tethered solutions, we are presenting this year’s attendees with a full range of products highlighted by our new WATT 300 heavy-lift drone,” said Bruce Hardy, Vice President of Sales of Drone Aviation. “We look forward to meeting with new and existing customers and to sharing with the SOF community the many unique and compelling operational capabilities of our tethered products.”
WASP
The WASP (Winch Aerostat Small Platform) is a highly tactical and mobile aerostat system. It can be operated by as few as two soldiers and can provide video and wireless communication range extension from either a fixed, stationary position or while being towed. Over the past four years, U.S. Army-owned WASP systems have successfully completed thousands of hours of soldier training operations, various DoD exercises, and customer operations.
WASP is currently being utilized by the DoD as a mobile, tactical aerial solution that can support various ISR mission profiles involving ground-based assets as well as aerial assets through communication retransmission. The patented WATT Electric Tethered Aerial Platform is the Company’s turn-key electric tethered drone designed to provide secure and reliable aerial communications and monitoring for extended durations. WATT utilizes a high strength, Kevlar®-armored tether connected to the ground providing uninterruptible power, unjammable command, and control. Secure collection and distribution of sensor data deliver coverage from altitudes up to 400 feet for 8+ hours. (Source: UAS VISION)
10 May 17. US Army exploring options for extended and improved MQ-1Cs. The US Army is exploring what added capabilities and payloads it might use on an extended range General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS), said Lieutenant Colonel Jay Sawyer, product manager of the army’s medium altitude and endurance office. The Gray Eagle Extended Range was internally developed by GA-ASI and Congress appropriated more funding so the army could buy it. The service has 19 on contract and is now finalising the last production contract with some options, Lt Col Sawyer told AUVSI’s annual Xponential unmanned systems conference in Dallas, Texas, on 9 May.
Two Gray Eagle Extended Range platfor