UMS Skeldar Growing Globally
Marking its world launch as a company, UMS Skeldar is showcasing the newest of its four unmanned platforms — the V-200 UAS. A joint venture between the Swedish Saab Group aviation manufacturer and UMS Aero Group, a Swiss investment company, UMS Skeldar is optimistic about creating inroads in the expanding markets in Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia and the Pacific Rim.
“It’s an interesting time for the company,” says Philip Hicks, UMS Skeldar’s public relations director. “We have a number of options.”
Norway’s government-owned electric company is interested in using the V-200 to survey towers. A nation in Southeast Asia is seriously considering the company for a multi-platform contract, including the fixed-wing F-330 and F-720 systems, the vertical-takeoff R-350, as well as the V-200, Hicks says. Colombia and Mexico are interested in the V-200 as a potential platform for antidrug and other security-related operations.
“Our biggest challenge is to stick to the focused regions and sectors under consideration [and ensure] customers that we have the total portfolio. They can enter into a package that might start with one of our smaller birds, and trade up to Skeldar,” Hicks says.
