Drone40, an Australian-developed expendable loitering munition, will see operational use in Mali with the British Army’s Royal Anglian regiment. The drone, which is roughly the size of a standard 40mm low velocity grenade, will likely be used in a reconnaissance role. It will also be deployed to Poland for an exercise. Drone40 was first exhibited at Army Innovation Day 2016 and DefendTex subsequently received a Defence Innovation Contract to fund its development.
The team expanded from two people to the current number of 103, and DefendTex has since acquired Alfatron, an electrical componentry manufacturer, to localise the munition’s supply chain. The company says the Australian Industry Content in Drone40 stands at 90 per cent.
Drone40 has evolved from a stand-alone loitering munition to be the centre piece of a number of research and development efforts...MORE
