Troubled waters for UK naval VTOL UAS
A highly anticipated Royal Navy VTOL UAV contract awarded to AgustaWestland was originally awarded to a Lockheed Martin/Saab consortium unable to keep within contract costs, industry sources have revealed.
AgustaWestland was awarded the £2.3 million contract in August to develop the Rotary Wing UAS (RWUAS) concept. However, sources claimed the AgustaWestland team was only the second choice of the navy.
The preferred bidder, at the time, was Lockheed Martin which was offering Saab’s Skeldar VTOL UAV. Skeldar received its first contract from the Spanish Navy in July and has since been deployed to the Horn of Africa
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