Drone Aviation Wins BAE Systems' Contract For US Aerostat Enhancement

Drone Aviation Corp (DAC) has won a contract from BAE Systems for enhancing and supporting two WASP aerostat systems for upcoming Department of Defense (DoD) exercises.

WASP Aerostat systems are owned and operated by the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command Battle Lab (SMDCBL).

The DAC announced Wednesday that the upgrades and services are designed to expand the payload weight capability of the WASP tactical aerostat systems in order to integrate specialized wireless electronics, advanced optics and a communications package provided by L-3 Communication Systems-West (L-3 CS-West).

Under the terms of an agreement between DAC and L-3 CS-West, a working group has commenced on a technical integration plan that includes integrating new technologies into the WASP and jointly marketing the integrated solution.

The DAC and L-3 CS-West working group will focus on upgrading the WASP system through the integration of an electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) imaging tactical surveillance system coupled to an L-3 CS-West communications package, which will provide secure high-definition video imagery to ground-based devices such as L-3's Remote Operations Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER).

The enhanced WASP systems and components are expected to be delivered to the US Army in July 2015 and will be deployed in a month-long exercise to demonstrate the enhanced battlefield capabilities of the wireless-enabled WASP tactical aerostat system.

The WASP is a tactical and mobile aerostat system that provides communications range extension beyond that of normal tactical relay antennas. Operating at ten times the height of the tallest Army tower system, the WASP system can extend the range of communications in remote and austere locations.

The soldier-operated systems can be configured to support a variety of mission requirements for long duration with customized payloads, including voice and data communications and day/night video.

 The Army-owned WASP systems have successfully completed operations in a series of Army Network Integration Experiments (NIEs).