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Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, procured trial flights of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) from Airbus Defence and Space, in partnership with IAI and Leonardo, valued at EUR 4,500,000, for maritime aerial surveillance from bases in Greece and Italy. The purpose was to test long-endurance drone capabilities, including assisting in intercepting refugee boats during several hundred hours of flights in late 2018. This trial provided strategic context for subsequent larger framework contracts in 2020 for ongoing border surveillance services, enhancing Europe's external border security amid migration pressures.
Trial contract with Airbus, IAI, Leonardo. Several hundred flight hours from Greece and Italy. Led to €50M framework in 2020. Leonardo later excluded (20hr endurance requirement).
https://stopwapenhandel.org/frontex-awards-e50-million-in-border-surveillance-drone-contracts-to-airbus-iai-and-elbit/