The first day of the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) and the Naval Defence Exhibition (NAVDEX) 2021 saw the UAE Armed Forces confirming its contract for additional Seeker UAV from Denel.
The UAE Armed Forces signed the deal with Denel SOC, trading as Denel Dynamics, to provide a Seeker 400 unmanned drone system to the Presidential Guard Command with a value of AED 50,000,000 ($13,612,775.00) Staff Brigadier-General Mohammed Al Hassani, Official Spokesperson of the IDEX and NAVDEX exhibitions said.
The UAE ordered for six UAVs was signed in March last year at the Unmanned Systems Exhibition of (UMEX) held in Abu Dhabi.
In March 2020, the United Arab Emirates place an order for additional Seeker 400 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Denel Dynamics, worth more than R109 million. With two ground control stations, six electro-optics payloads, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), satellite communication (SATCOM), and the integration of weapons.
Denel developed a variant of its Seeker 400 UAV, which has an enlarged nose for a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and hump above the wing for beyond line of sight satellite communications link. It was also fitted with two surface-to-air missiles.
The Seeker 400 System operates at direct line-of-sight (LOS) ranges of up to 250 km from the base station, with up to 16 hours endurance, service ceiling of up to 18 000 ft and payload capacity of up to 100 kg.