Media Release

The Australian Defence Force will trial a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) to determine its value to battlefield surveillance for land operations as part of Joint Project 129 during the major combined exercise, CROCODILE 99.

The Defence Acquisition Organisation (DAO) announced today that a Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc., Bombadier Aerospace, Defence Services, will provide the CL-327 Guardian UAV for a two month opportunity to demonstrate the UAV capability.

The Guardian UAV system will participate in a controlled trial at RAAF Tindal in July before CROCODILE 99 gets underway and then move into the exercise area of operations for field evaluation.

The Guardian's VTOL design allows it to deploy independently of prepared runways.

The trials of the Guardian will be conducted in conjunction with a specially modified Army King-Air 350 fitted with a synthetic aperture radar and infra-red equipment for a broader area of surveillance. The two systems are designed to complement each other.

The Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) has been closely involved in development of the program and will attend and monitor the trials.

NOTE FOR NEWS EDITORS, CHIEFS-OF-STAFF : A DIGITISED IMAGE OF THE BOMBARDIER GUARDIAN UAV MAY BE DOWNLOADED FROM [web site no longer available ]

Further information: Wing Commander Rino Carrera (02) 6265 7475

Issued by the Defence Public Affairs Organisation, Department of Defence, Canberra, ACT, 2600

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