Institu currently has “between 12 and 15 active pursuits right now in the Middle East region,” Mark Russell, the company’s business development manager told reporters. Each potential sale consists of six Institu ScanEagle surveillance UAS and four Institu Interceptor UAS.
While Russell declined to name which countries are currently in talks, it is believed that ScanEagles are already in use in Yemen, Iraq and Tunisia. The majority of sales are carried out through the US government’s Foreign Military Sales program.
Classed as a long-endurance, autonomous unmanned aircraft system, the ScanEagle provides persistent daytime and nighttime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for civilian and defense operations. It can operate for up to 24 hours at heights of up to 5,950 meters.
It was originally developed for fishermen to track tuna but was first used in combat during the Battle of Fallujah in Afghanistan in 2004 and was infamously used to help rescue Captain Richard Phillips when he was captured by Somali pirates in 2009.
Insitu will display the ScanEagle at the Unmanned Systems Exhibition and Conference (UMEX) in Abu Dhabi in March 2016, having been invited to exhibit at the event by HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Russell said.
Source: Arabian Business.com