Boeing unit launches new military drone

(Reuters) - Insitu Inc, a unit of Boeing Co, on Monday launched a military drone enabled with satellite communications and an extended range of operations aiming to land both U.S. and international customers.

FILE PHOTO: A Boeing logo is pictured during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) at Geneva Airport, Switzerland May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The Integrator Extended Range, which features high-quality full motion video during flight and more secure jam-resistant networks, would deliver “significantly reduced cost” compared with other contracted medium-altitude drones, the unit said.

Don Williamson, Intsitu’s vice president for defense, said the drone is the first of its size to provide this level of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance without the need for a paved runway.

“All warfighting units and coalition partners can have access to what was once a limited resource, getting this much-needed capability in the hands of the warfighter at a fraction of the cost of any current system available today,” Insitu Chief Executive Officer Esina Alic said in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump has eased rules for exporting some types of lethal U.S.-made drones to potentially dozens more allies and partners.

Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru and Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Maju Samuel

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