Finland’s Defence Ministry has selected Aeronautics Defense Systems‘ Orbiter 2 unmanned aircraft system for its operational needs.
A €23 million ($30 million) contract is in the final approval phase and is expected to be signed soon.
According to Finnish sources, the deal will include 55 mini UAS, with the acquisition aimed at giving the nation’s armed forces a new surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capability.
The final phase of the competition was between two Israeli-made systems – the Orbiter 2 and BlueBird’s SpyLite.
The selected design has a 3m (9.8ft) wing span, 1m-long fuselage, and a 3.5h endurance up to an altitude of 18,000ft.
Maximum take-off weight is 9.5kg (20.9lb), with the air vehicle carrying an electro-optical/infrared sensor payload
Source: Flight Global