The Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) has ordered over 800 SkyRanger R70 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Teledyne FLIR Defense to donate to the government of Ukraine, the company announced on 20 February 2024.
The contract is worth more than CAD 95 million (EUR 65 million).
The SkyRanger R70 is a small quadcopter vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV that can carry payloads up to 3.5 kg, including munitions. It has a typical endurance of more than 40 minutes, a range of up to 8 km with a standard base station, is capable of semi-autonomous flight and can operate in GPS- or communications-denied environments.
“The R70’s multi-mission payloads provide ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] and payload delivery capabilities previously limited to much larger [UAVs],” Teledyne FLIR Defense states on its website. “R70 operators can rapidly attach, carry and deliver nearly any object up to 3.5 kg for forward resupply, asset extraction or other specialised missions.”
The Ukrainian military are already using Teledyne FLIR Defense Black Hornet nano-UAVs through previous donations made by the Norwegian and British governments.
“I would like to thank the Canadian government and the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, for turning to SkyRanger drones in their support for Ukraine,” Edwin Roks, CEO of Teledyne Technologies, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “As a world leader in small unmanned aerial systems and remote sensing solutions, Teledyne FLIR Defense is proving that tactical platforms such as SkyRanger and Black Hornet can deliver immediate covert situational awareness on today’s battlefields, where and when warfighters need it most.”
