DSEi 2011: Aero Sekur reveals plans for new UGV

14th September 2011 - 14:41 GMT | by The Shephard News Team

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Aero Sekur is developing a 'quad bike' UGV, the company announced at the DSEi exhibition in London on 14 September.

Mark Butler, CEO of the company, told Shephard that the ‘Midi UGV' is realistically 12 months away from completion, and has been developed alongside the Italian MoD.

The system is 'like a quad bike with sensor arrays and cameras' that will be used for threat search, and with a 25 mile range can be sent ahead of a manned vehicle to search the area.

The UGV goes as quickly as a manned vehicle, which Butler explained is in response to the 'robots' currently used in these operations that 'slow the convoy down'.

With the distance the vehicle will be able to cover, it gives troops the 'time to take precautions or avoid it [the threat]', he said.

Butler emphasised the need for a disposable system that avoids putting a soldier at risk. The system is still being tested and is at a development contract stage with the MoD.

Meanwhile, the company is also undergoing final qualification testing on its Precision Airdrop System (PAS), and it is expected to be completed within the next three years.

The PAS uses an autonomous control system that guides a load undamaged and into a guided space.

A contract on the system is expected in 'the next few months' with an undisclosed European customer, although it has received interest from forces in four different continents, Butler said.

The company also provides UAV recovery systems for medium-sized platforms and this product has been in service with an undisclosed customer for some five years.