SELEX Galileo flys its mini UAS as part of a major British Army military exercise on Salisbury Plain

9th April 2009 - 15:00 GMT | by The Shephard News Team

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SELEX Galileo, leading member of the Finmeccanica UK Battlespace Solutions team, has flown its Unmanned Air System (UAS) during a British Army mission rehearsal exercise in the UK.

The flight team from SELEX Galileo’s Air Systems, Unmanned Air Systems & Simulators division oversaw a number of successful flights of its STRIX Mini UAS as part of exercises carried out from 16 – 20 March on Salisbury Plain. This involved fast aircraft and helicopters, as well as SELEX Galileo’s mini UAS

The support provided by SELEX Galileo included flying the STRIX Mini UAS for periods of up to one hour to present surveillance of activities at key points on the ground and to monitor the movement of convoys and related action.

The video images obtained were down-linked to the Company’s Common Ground Control Station and then were passed directly to the Brigade’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (ISTAR) cell.

Approximately 2000 troops and 100 vehicles took part in this major exercise on Salisbury Plain’s training area which aimed to prepare troops for possible deployment on operations in the coming months. This Mission Rehearsal Exercise (MRX) involved units from the Bulford based 12 Mechanised Brigade.

SELEX Galileo’s contribution to the exercise fits well within the Finmeccanica UK Battlespace Solutions initiative which groups Finmeccanica companies: SELEX Communications Ltd, SELEX Systems Integration Ltd, AgustaWestland, DRS Technologies and, led by, SELEX Galileo with the principal focus of bringing together the skills, experience and products necessary to provide innovative Battlespace solutions to the UK MoD.