Italy’s Leonardo has unveiled the Falco Xplorer UAS, the largest remotely piloted system it has ever designed, at the 2019 Paris Airshow.

The Xplorer is the latest addition to the company’s Falco line of UASs, and features a 350kg payload and an endurance of more then 24 hours. It features SATCOM for beyond line of sight communications, and a maximum takeoff weight of about 1,200kg. Leonardo says the air vehicle, sensors and mission system have been designed entirely in-house, and that the system is readily exportable without restriction and without being subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) restrictions.

“Leonardo invests continuously in new capabilities to ensure we position the right products in the right markets”, Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo, said at the Xplorer’s unveiling in Paris. “The Falco Xplorer is designed to be extremely competitive in its category, building on the experience we’ve gained working with Falco family customers over a number of years and our Company’s strengths in the unmanned domain. By understanding and being able to meet our customers’ needs, we expect to increase our share of the unmanned systems market.”

Leonardo plans to certify the system to operate in non-segregated airspace and to meet NATO STANAG4671 for operation in NATO militaries, and is pitching it to military as well as civil agencies such as coast guards and emergency responders.

(LEONARDO)