Sponsored by The British Robotics Seed Fund
http: www.britbots.com/fund
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07 Aug 23. UAE’s Edge reveals UAV testing facility. The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) Edge Group revealed the location of its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) testing facility on 4 August, when it released a video showing demonstrations it put on for a Brazilian naval delegation. The video said the Brazilians were taken to the company’s ‘testing range’ and showed them watching the feed from an ADASI QX-2 quadcopter that included co-ordinates for a location at the airport on Abu al-Abyad island, about 60 km southwest of Abu Dhabi city. An ADASI Garmoosha unmanned helicopter was also seen flying. The company had previously told Janes that the Garmoosha, which is similar to the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 used by the UAE Armed Forces, is in full-rate production for an undisclosed customer. The Brazilians were also given a demonstration by Edge’s electronic warfare subsidiary, Sig4l, which had deployed antennas on top of one of the airport’s buildings, and watched the Armed Robotic Vehicle (ARV) version of the Nimr Ajban 4×4 that was remotely driven around the aircraft parking apron. (Source: Janes)
08 Aug 23. Local production agreements signed for Saudi Bayraktar Akinci UAVs. Up to 70% of the Bayraktar Akıncı unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that will be built for the Saudi military will be locally produced, Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) said after the signing of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Turkish defence companies on 6 August.
Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of Bayraktar Akıncıs for its air and naval forces was announced on 18 July, with Haluk Bayraktar, the CEO of the UAV’s manufacturer Baykar, describing it as “the biggest defence and aviation export contract in the history of the Republic of Turkey”.
Three MOUs were signed on 6 August – one between SAMI and Baykar; another between Saudi Arabia’s National Company for Mechanical Systems (NCMS) and Aselsan, which makes the UAV’s electro-optical system; and the third between NCMS and guided weapons manufacturer Roketsan. NCMS was established in 2006 with the aim of developing Saudi Arabia’s electronics and electro-optics industries. (Source: Janes)
04 Aug 23. Agreement Between Fincantieri and C.A.B.I. Cattaneo. Fincantieri, one of the world’s leading shipbuilding groups, and C.A.B.I. Cattaneo (hereafter CABI), a leading Italian company in the design, development and supply of underwater vehicles for Naval Special Forces, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the assessment of commercial and industrial cooperation in the field of underwater vehicles and their integration with larger vessels.
The agreement was signed by Pierroberto Folgiero and Alberto Villa, CEO of Fincantieri and CABI, respectively, in the presence of Admiral Enrico Credendino, Chief of the Italian Navy.
The MoU, which may be followed by an additional cooperation agreement to be finalized within the year, will allow underwater vehicles to be integrated with Fincantieri surface and underwater vessels, improving, thanks to this new synergy, the products that can be offered in the target global markets.
In particular, the design, construction, fit-out and setting to work of the main vessels will be the responsibility of Fincantieri, which will be the Design Authority, while CABI will take on the same role for the underwater vehicles.
The companies believe that this agreement, which may be extended to other specialist companies, can strengthen their positioning in relation to potential overseas customers. Indeed, the offering will be strengthened through the marketing of a single capacity package where, for the first time, in addition to the Fincantieri platform, there will be underwater vehicles produced by CABI, functionally and physically integrated right from the initial stages of the design of the mother ship.
With over 230 years of history and more than 7,000 ships built, Fincantieri maintains its know-how, expertise and management centres in Italy, here employing 10,000 workers and creating around 90,000 jobs, which double worldwide thanks to a production network of 18 shipyards operating in four continents and with almost 21,000 employees.
C.A.B.I. Cattaneo, a supplier of special underwater vehicles for the Special Forces of the Italian Navy, is a company specialized mainly in the design and construction of underwater vehicles, as well as the systems to achieve the integration of these vehicles with major vessels such as surface ships and submarines. (Source: https://www.defense-aerospace.com/ Fincantieri)
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The British Robotics Seed Fund is the first SEIS-qualifying investment fund specialising in UK-based robotics businesses. The focus of the fund is to deliver superior returns to investors by making targeted investments in a mixed basket of the most innovative and disruptive businesses that are exploiting the new generation of robotics technologies in defence and other sector applications.
Automation and robotisation are beginning to drive significant productivity improvements in the global economy heralding a new industrial revolution. The fund allows investors to benefit from this exciting opportunity, whilst also delivering the extremely attractive tax reliefs offered by the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). For many private investors, the amount of specialist knowledge required to assess investments in robotics is not practical and hence investing through a fund structure makes good sense.
The fund appoints expert mentors to work with each investee company to further maximise the chance of success for investors. Further details are available on request.
www.britbots.com/fund
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