Civilian UAVs on Watch in 5-10 Years

Asian Aerospace 2000 -- Cobham plc could be flying UAVs on coastal surveillance missions within 5-10 years. Announcing the completion of the acquisition of NJS, Gordon Page, Chief Executive of Cobham, told Show News in an exclusive, "We are looking at the larger UAVs which could carry sophisticated radar to counter 'illegals' operating jammers on board their boats. UAVs are an option we are looking at worldwide, and a prime example for their use would be the north coast of Australia. We are looking at craft with an endurance of around 12 hours, but currently, reliability precludes their use, and they are not part of normal military equipment yet."

With their new acquisition Cobham is looking to grow its government contract air operations work in Australia. A subsidiary of NJS Surveillance Australia has a dedicated fleet of aircraft flying for the Australian Customs services on 'Coastwatch' patrols. The use of UAVs for this work would mean less people watching the coastline. Instead a relay of UAVs could do the hard work of patrolling coastal waters.

"Additionally, we have just put in a bid to the Australian Navy for its emerging electronic warfare requirements", stated Page.

By Mike Vines