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German Navy starts V-200 UAV operator training ahead of shipboard tests

V-200 VTOL UAV
UMS Skeldar file photo

The German Navy has started operator training on the V-200 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), coming a step closer to shipboard evaluations.

Germany ordered the Sea Falcon, as it will be known once it enters German Navy service, from Swiss-Swedish UAV manufacturer UMS Skeldar in August 2018. Munich-based Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH (ESG) is the prime contractor on the UAV system procurement program.

As announced by the German naval forces commander, the training is an important step toward the first shipboard trials aboard a German Navy K130 Braunschweig-class corvette.

The 2018-contract will see UMS Skeldar deliver two V-200s as sensor carriers, in addition to integrating the system into the K130 corvettes and delivering a spare parts package and training of ship-borne operators and maintenance personnel.

The V-200 is a heavy-fuel VTOL system with a maximum takeoff weight of 234 kilograms and an endurance of up to five hours.

In addition to the German Navy, the V-200 is scheduled to be trialed aboard Royal Canadian Navy ships this year.