Falco EVO continues Frontex operations
Leonardo’s Falco EVO UAS continues to support monitoring activities for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, in the Mediterranean Sea.
As part of work to monitor irregular migrants in the area, Falco EVO was recently involved in a mission to identify a mothership trawler as 81 illegal migrants were transferred to smaller boats. Launched from the Italian island of Lampedusa and operating with other Frontex assets the Falco EVO’s surveillance payloads surveilled the trawler following the transfer until an enforcement operation was launched by Italian authorities to seize the boat.
Based at Lampedusa Airport since December 2018, the Falco EVO system has flown for more than 280 hours on behalf of Frontex, carrying out multipurpose aerial surveillance operations.
Flights are planned in coordination with the Guardia di Finanza and the Italian Ministry of the Interior and carried out by Leonardo, which operates the Falco EVO under a service arrangement.
In its configuration for the Frontex mission, the Falco EVO is equipped with an advanced suite of sensors including the company’s Gabbiano TS Ultra-Light radar, which enables long range missions during the day and at night.
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