Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare announced on Thursday that a second Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) will be delivered to the army almost a year ahead of schedule.
The TUAS systems, purchased from the US, comprises of five aircraft, ground control stations, a launch and recovery element and logistics and training.
The first of the two TUAS systems was delivered in August last year to Australian troops and is currently being used during operations in Afghanistan.
The two TUAS systems have been acquired at a cost of $90 million.
“One of the most important parts of our job is making sure that our troops have got the equipment they need to do their job,” Mr Clare told reporters on Thursday.
“By bringing (it) forward by almost a year … It will allow our troops that are yet to deploy to Afghanistan to train with this equipment and get expertise in it before they head off.”
Source: Sydney Morning Herald