Portuguese Army procures AeroVironment Raven unmanned aircraft systems. Credit: Business Wire.

NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has awarded a contract to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) manufacturer AeroVironment to acquire a Raven system for the Portuguese Army.

Valued at $5.96m, the fixed-price contract award involves the procurement of the small remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fitted with Mantis i23 sensors and pocket remote video terminals (p/RVTs).

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AeroVironment UAS Business vice-president and general manager Kirk Flittie said: “AeroVironment’s Raven unmanned aircraft system, equipped with our Mantis i23 gimbaled sensor suite and p/RVTs, packs significant capabilities into a portable, man-packable platform for operations in austere environments around the globe.

“Our small UAS deliver valuable situational awareness directly to frontline warfighters at a fraction of the procurement and lifecycle cost of larger UAS. The Raven system will provide the Portuguese Army with rapid and effective force protection, as well as interoperability capabilities with NATO forces, supporting coalition mission integration.”

“The Raven UAS systems are scheduled to be delivered to the Portuguese Army over a period of three years.”

The Raven UAS systems are scheduled to be delivered to the Portuguese Army over a period of three years.

With the completion of the delivery, the Portuguese Army will become the 18th of 29 NATO member nations to adopt AeroVironment’s family of small UAS systems.

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With a wingspan of 4.5ft and a weight of 4.2lb, the Raven UAS is a hand-launched drone that provides aerial observation, day or night, at line-of-sight ranges up to 10km.

AeroVironment’s family of small UAS systems offers enhanced capability to the warfighter and can provide ground commanders with the option to select the appropriate aircraft based on the type of mission to be carried out.

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