MDA to supply Canadian Forces with unmanned aerial surveillance
by Canadian Manufacturing Daily Staff
Will provide undisclosed number of Raven-B surveillance units to Department of National Defence
RICHMOND, B.C.—Scant details have been provided about an $11.3-million contract awarded to MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) by the Canadian military for unmanned aerial surveillance units.
MDA announced that it won the deal from the Department of National Defence (DND) to “provide and unmanned aerial surveillance solution” to the Canadian Forces.
“The solution includes the delivery of The Raven-B unmanned aerial vehicles built by AeroVironment (AV), MDA’s full-motion video exploitation tools, training, maintenance and support services,” the company said in a release.
The numbered of units to be provided under the deal were not disclosed.
According to the AV website, the Raven-B “is the most widely used unmanned aircraft system in the world today,” and is designed for rapid deployment for “low-altitude surveillance and reconnaissance intelligence.”
The hand-launched vehicle can be operated manually or programmed for autonomous operation, and has a wingspan of 4.5 feet and a weight of 4.2 lbs.
