Drone Aviation Holding Corp., a manufacturer of tethered drones and lighter-than-air aerostats, has announced that it has been awarded a contract to supply its WATT electric tethered drones to a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) customer.
The contract, valued at approximately $400,000, includes WATT electric tethered drones and complete in-field support packages and operator flight training. The WATT is designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (“ISR”) applications, supporting dual sensor Electro-Optical/Infrared (“EO/IR”) military-grade, highly stabilized turret-style gimbaled payloads providing day and nighttime video for use in all-weather environments.
“This new award from the DoD is a significant milestone for our Company as we officially begin to train and support our nation’s early adopters of tethered drones,” said Jay Nussbaum, Chairman and CEO of Drone Aviation. “We expect this initial award to generate valuable data and deployment experience, something we intend to leverage to convert our prospect pipeline into tethered drone sales to customers in the government and commercial markets. We look forward to working closely and supporting our new customer which we believe will continue to strengthen our long-standing relationship with the DoD,” added Mr. Nussbaum.
The patented WATT Electric Tethered Aerial Platform (ETAP) is the Company’s turn-key electric tethered drone designed to provide secure and reliable aerial communications and monitoring for extended durations. WATT utilizes a high strength, Kevlar-armored tether connected to the ground providing uninterruptible power, unjammable command and control, and secure collection and distribution of sensor data, to deliver coverage from altitudes up to 400 feet for up to 8 hours or more.
Supporting advanced mil-spec communications packages and sensors, including highly stabilized zoom EO/IR systems, WATT provides persistent ISR and aerial monitoring capabilities over a wide area. The WATT ETAP is suited to a wide number of government, news gathering, industrial and emergency response applications where manned aircraft and even free-flying drones are unable to deliver the long flight duration and commercial grade real-time day or night video monitoring capabilities needed.
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