New comms payload for Wasp aerostat
Drone Aviation will integrate a new communications sensor into the US Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) Wasp aerostats under a contract announced on 19 October.
The payload will expand Wasp’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission scope with additional communications capabilities, including voice and data network range extension.
Wasp is a tactical and mobile aerostat designed to provide day/night video and wireless communication relay from either a stationary position or while being towed. Operating at altitudes of up to 1,500ft from launch sites up to 6,000ft above sea level, the system can extend ISR and communications requirements in remote and austere locations.
Jay Nussbaum, chairman and CEO of Drone Aviation, said: ‘This DoD integration award is the third Wasp contract we have received from the DoD this year, demonstrating the Wasp’s unique ability to evolve with the emerging challenges facing the modern warfighter.’
The US Army has deployed Wasp for the past three years.
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