The Greek Navy will operate 5 Alpha 900 UAV helicopters from its ships, as one of the key tools of its Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions in naval environments.
The Spanish company Alpha Unmanned Systems (AUS) is committed to the use of its unmanned helicopters as one of the key tools of its Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions in naval environments.
Such a commitment is already bearing fruit as evidenced by the recent sale of Alpha 900 UAVs to the Greek Navy, which will operate the unmanned aircraft from its ships. The Greek Navy acquired five of these UAVs and their associated systems.
Alpha 900 is designed and manufactured by the company based in Madrid, and it offers a huge versatility in terms of its capacity for use from ships, even in the case of ships with space limitations on the main deck. This ISR tool for onboard operations or naval environments can carry a payload of 4 kg and perform missions with an operating range of up to 4 hours. These missions were not possible until now, and previously only with larger, more complex and expensive aircraft.
The A900 UAVs are designed with combustion engines that run on petrol or heavy fuel and can take off and land on sailing ships as unmanned systems, and are built in compliance with the NATO’s standardisation agreement (STANAG), with redundancy of all of their critical systems. Likewise, they can be used by other types of naval operators, such as Coastguards and for search and rescue missions at sea or on the coast, as well as for surveillance operations of illegal immigrants or trafficking.
Alpha 900 systems are made up of two helicopters with an internal combustion engine, a maritime control station from which the platform is operated, floats to protect the system and its payloads (usually a double day-night time electro-optical sensor) and an antenna to transmit data over distances of up to 50 km.
As part of the company’s expansion strategy and plans, Eric Freeman, CEO of the company, confirmed that Joseph Menaker, UAV industry expert with over 30 years of experience, founder and Managing Director of the UAV Factory (currently EDGE Autonomy), has recently joined the company’s Advisory Board. Menaker holds a PhD in Econometrics and a master’s degree in Quantitative Economics.
Alpha Unmanned System is a Spanish company established 2014 that is wholly owned by private investors and which has sold its systems across the world to countries in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States. These UAVs are used for maritime security, border control or observation and surveillance missions in critical areas. (José Mª Navarro García)
