Selex ES Sells Falco UAV to Middle Eastern Country

Finmeccanica unit Selex ES has announced 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 said in a statement on Tuesday.

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.

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.

Fabrizio Giulianini, CEO of Selex ES, said 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.