Orbital receives order for propulsion systems

Air September 20, 2016

Orbital has received a further batch order for propulsion systems from Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, valued at US$9.7 million.

The propulsion systems are required by Insitu to meet customer demand for the Insitu ScanEagle UAV, one of the world’s most widely recognised fixed-wing light reconnaissance UAVs. ScanEagle is an industry leader which has been in operation around the world for more than ten years. The incorporation of Orbital’s unique propulsion system represents a major upgrade to the ScanEagle programme.

The production order from Insitu is the second quantity of propulsion systems which will be delivered to Insitu to meet immediate customer requirements. Insitu and Orbital continue to negotiate a long-term supply agreement, which is expected to be in place before the end of 2016.

Propulsion systems to fulfil the current Insitu orders will be manufactured at Orbital’s facilities in Perth, Australia. In parallel, the Orbital UAV team is working with Insitu and actively planning the first phase of Orbital’s expansion into the US, starting with local US technical support, repair and rebuild capabilities. Planning has also begun for US-based manufacturing operations projected to commence in late 2017.

Orbital CEO and Managing Director Terry Stinson said: “This new order is a key milestone confirming Insitu’s confidence in the Insitu-Orbital propulsion systems delivered to date. Insitu and Orbital have jointly achieved thousands of hours of successful bench testing, and hundreds of hours of flight testing to ensure that this product sets a new benchmark in the industry.”

If you would like to join our community and read more articles like this then please click here

Air Australia Boeing CEO Insitu International Managing Director Orbital Perth programme ScanEagle Terry Stinson UAV