The latest drone that crashed had taken off from RAF Akrotiri in Greek Cyprus when it plummeted into the sea on May 29 during a routine training flight.
According to an official report: “The automatic landing system seems to be working as designed in good weather, but in bad weather conditions, such as low clouds, fog, gusts, rain or a combination of these conditions,” abnormalities “appear in the drone system.
On the other hand, Romania cancels its only acquisition of military drones.
Romania’s Defence Ministry has cancelled its only tender for acquiring military drones. In 2020, the Parliament approved the purchase of seven UAS II class tactical drone operating systems. The acquisition would have added 21 drones to the Army’s hold, plus maintenance, for around USD 277 million. The Defence Ministry recently cancelled the order because some specifications did not comply with its requirements, Romainian publication Hotnews.ro reported. The publication claimed that the Ministry of National Defence decided to cancel the procedure, claiming that some components on the communications side of the drone did not comply with some STANAG standards required in the specifications.
The drone can take off and land automatically and operate on unpaved runways (e.g. grass or sand). It is equipped with two types of sensors: multispectral (electro-optical and infrared), a radar covering an area of 100 kilometres, and can detect, identify and monitor moving targets.
Watchkeeper X has a range of 16 hours and a flight speed of about 200 kilometres per hour.
