Selex To Sell Falco UAVs Worth $52 Million To Middle East

Selex ES has won a deal worth over €40 million (US $52 million) to sell its Falco UAV to an unnamed Middle Eastern country.

The deal covers operational and maintenance support to the customer for 12 months, Selex official was quoted by Defense News.

Last year, Finmeccanica said it was seeking to sell a second batch of Falcos to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has already reportedly purchased the tactical medium-altitude, medium-endurance UAV.

At the time the firm said it had sold the UAV to four customers, with Pakistan known to be on the client list alongside Saudi Arabia, the report said.

Last month, the UN said it was acquiring a Falco system to support peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first time the UN has used UAVs.

On Tuesday, after the latest Middle East contract announcement, a Selex spokeswoman said the firm now has five customers for the Falco.

Last year, Finmeccanica said it saw opportunities to sell UAVs in Algeria, the UAE and Malaysia, countries that may be reluctant to do business with the Israeli UAV industry.

The report added that the firm has also launched a flight campaign for its larger, Falco Evo UAV and won a launch customer for its platform-agnostic SkyISTAR mission system.