Mist Mobility Integrated Systems Technology (MMIST) of Canada is to take its Snowgoose parasail-based unmanned air- logistics vehicle into full-scale production for the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM). MMIST has received a $75 million contract for a vehicle modified to airdrop leaflets and printed propaganda.
First deliveries of the variant - designated the CQ-10A Wind Supported Air Delivery System (WSADS) - begin soon. Training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will begin in October, and deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan is set for December.
SOCOM has previously taken delivery of four systems, which have undergone extensive trials over the past two years. WSADS deputy programme manager Maj Roger Harris says the new order includes 18 systems, each comprising two air vehicles, ground control systems, launch cradles and system spares.
Production WSADS will incorporate an Iridium satellite datalink to allow for in-flight course and waypoint updates, an identification-friend-or foe transponder and integrated blue force tracker.
Source: Flight International