30.3.2021 08:30:16 CEST | Nordic Unmanned | Additional regulated information
required to be disclosed under the laws of a member state
Nordic Unmanned has teamed up with Textron Systems Corporation, a Textron Inc.
(NYSE: TXT) company, to enter the fixed wing segment of the European drone
market. The first commercial opportunity for the team is already targeted, as
Nordic Unmanned is competing for a contract with the European Maritime Safety
Agency (EMSA) with Textron Systems as its supplier of platform and lifecycle
support.
"We're excited to be collaborating with an industry heavyweight such as Textron
Systems, as we now move full speed ahead into the fixed-wing vertical of the
drone industry. The fixed-wing drone market vertical is a brand-new untapped
opportunity for us, and it fits perfectly into our offering as we today are only
offering vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) based solutions," said Knut Roar
Wiig, CEO of Nordic Unmanned.
The EMSA tender process, which is based around the Textron Systems Aerosonde?
unmanned aircraft system (UAS), covers maritime surveillance and coast guard
functions, including environmental surveillance, rescue work, border control and
vessel surveillance. The total value of the contract is estimated at EUR 20
million over 4 years from Q3 2021. The contract is expected to be awarded to the
successful bidder in the second quarter 2021.
A fixed-wing drone has wings, as opposed to vertical lift rotors. Each category
has advantages, dependent upon mission. A fixed-wing drone can provide
advantages over rotary wing drones by providing considerably increased
endurance, increased range, and acoustic advantages. A fixed-wing drone has a
dramatically lower CO2 emission and environmental footprint compared to a manned
fixed-wing plane conducting a similar mission.
"Our Aerosonde UAS is a field-proven platform with more than 500,000 flight
hours, including desert heat and Arctic cold," said Wayne Prender, Textron
Systems' Senior Vice President, Air Systems. "Pairing our mature,
high-performance Aerosonde platform with Nordic Unmanned's premier support to
customers across Europe represents a superior offering for a variety of
applications."
Textron Systems' Aerosonde UAS has demonstrated its capability in both
expeditionary land- and sea-based operations, providing simultaneous day/night
full-motion video, communications relay and a customer-selected payload in a
single flight. The Aerosonde can also be fitted with additional sensors such as
signals intelligence, mapping sensors, or synthetic aperture radar.
"Our ambition is to use the EMSA tender process as a starting point for a
broader cooperation with Textron Systems, and we see great opportunities within
several areas both on service delivery and system integrations delivery. For
instance, the Norwegian Armed Forces have started the first phase of their
procurement process for their tactical UAS for land and sea based operations
with a total budget indication of several hundred million NOK. We just answered
their request for information (RFI) last week together with Textron Systems, and
there are other opportunities within the European market coming up in the short
term. We will definitely position ourselves for these processes and are very
excited about the commercial traction we are seeing in the market," said Mr.
Wiig.
DISCLAIMER
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section
5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
CONTACTS
* Knut Roar Wiig, CEO, +47 92 66 66 59, krw@nordicunmanned.com
ABOUT NORDIC UNMANNED
Nordic Unmanned delivers comprehensive data solutions through industry leading
expertise, to assist both public and private customers in the transition to
unmanned technology. The focus is to support demanding clients by collecting
time-critical data with the use of unmanned technology.
Founded in 2014, the company has offices in Sandnes, Oslo, and Frankfurt, and
has quickly become one of Europe's leading providers of unmanned systems and
services, with operations across the continent.The company is ISO 9001-2015
certified by DNV-GL for the operation, maintenance and sales of unmanned systems
and sensor technology.
For more information visit nordicunmanned.com - https://nordicunmanned.com/
ATTACHMENTS
Download announcement as PDF.pdf -
https://kommunikasjon.ntb.no/ir-files/17847587/402/559/Download%20announcement%2
0as%20PDF.pdf
Nordic Unmanned Press Release Textron Systems.pdf -
https://kommunikasjon.ntb.no/ir-files/17847587/402/542/Nordic%20Unmanned%20Press
%20Release%20Textron%20Systems.pdf
LINKS
Press Release Web -
https://nordicunmanned.com/press-releases/nordic-unmanned-teams-up-with-textron-
inc-to-enter-the-european-fixed-wing-market/
Textron Systems Aerosonde Product Page -
https://nordicunmanned.com/products/unmanned-systems-drones/textron-systems-aero
sonde/