BlueBird Aero Systems has completed the delivery of 100 WanderB-VTOL unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to an undisclosed European customer, although the exact contract value has not been revealed.
In a June 15 release, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which owns 50% of the shares of BlueBird Aero Systems, would only state that the deal was valued at “tens of millions of [US] dollars”, adding that the programme was the largest number of VTOL UAS delivered to a customer at one time.
The release further stated the UAS had been tested in “extreme” operational conditions and complied with the end user’s operational needs. Unmanned systems are increasingly common on the modern battlefield, with smaller systems typically utilised for local area surveillance and reconnaissance.
Moshe Levy, general manager of IAI’s Military Aircraft Division, said that BlueBird Aero Systems was delivering a “unique solution to the customer’s operational challenges”.
It is likely the delivery relates to a 2020 announcement from BlueBird Aero Systems detailing a contract with an unnamed European customer for more than 150 WanderB-VTOL UAV and ThunderB-VTOL UAVs, which would be operated “by infantry soldiers, armoured units, artillery corps and special forces.”
The WanderB-VTOL system has an endurance of 2.5 hours, a take-off weight of 14kg and an operator communication range of 50km.
