ROME — Italy’s Leonardo has made its initial delivery of a Falco EVO drone to the aircraft’s launch customer in the Middle East, the firm announced at the Dubai Airshow on Monday.
The UAV was delivered in September after trials at Leonardo’s facility at Ronchi dei Legionari in Italy, the firm said.
Leonardo did not name the launch customer, stating only that the Falco EVO has now been selected by two customers in the Middle East and the Gulf region.
The firm did say last year the two customers were military clients who already operate the Falco — the smaller, original version of the UAV.
Falco customers are thought to be Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the United Nations and Turkmenistan, suggesting the two new Falco EVO customers in the Middle East are Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
The Falco EVO can fly for more than 20 hours while carrying a payload of up to 100 kilograms. Earlier model Falcos can be converted to EVO specifications with a conversion kit that adds longer wings and tail booms.
More than 50 Falco family drones are currently in operation around the world, Leonardo said, some owned outright, while users like the U.N. receive a managed service, in which case Leonardo owns the UAVs and supplying surveillance data.
Leonardo said it was looking to increase managed service deals in the civil sector through contracts with police forces and emergency responders.
Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.
