Article Posted on : - Aug 27, 2010

The Desert Hawk III UAV. A Lockheed photo

DENVER (BNS): US defence company Lockheed Martin has bagged a $5.1 million contract from Britain to provide Desert Hawk III unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The contract, awarded by MoD’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) organisation, calls for Lockheed Martin to deliver the additional Desert Hawk III air vehicles by Fall 2010, the company said.

The Desert Hawk III is a next-generation combat-proven UAV. The aircraft is designed for portability, quick mission planning, hand launched and skid recovery, multi-mission versatility, enhanced day/night target detection, surveillance with higher operational range, endurance and covert operations.

The eight-pound UAV features an open architecture environment and consists of a light weight, hand-launched, ruggedized air vehicle, portable ground station and remote video terminal. The snap-on payload capability allows a single operator to swap sensors on the air vehicle in less than one minute to meet immediate and rapidly changing mission requirements.

Britain has deployed the Desert Hawk III aircraft in Afghanistan since 2006.