U.S. Navy orders rugged Talon robots for Poland
NewsOctober 15, 2012
Alice Moss
Military Embedded Systems
The U.S. Navy recently awarded QinetiQ North America Inc. a nearly $7 million contract for Talon Generation IV robot spares, vehicles, and accessories, in addition to training, shipping, and depot-level repair parts. The contract comprises a 100 percent allotment to Poland as a Foreign Military Sale.
Capable of navigating first-responder, law-enforcement, and military missions, the lightweight tracked Talon robot is highly suited to reconnaissance, security, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) disposal, heavy lift, communications, rescue, and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive (CBRNE) missions.
Able to negotiate rock piles and climb stairs, the Talon was utilized at Ground Zero in the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. Talon robots were also used in Iraq, where an insurgent possessing a bomb dropped a building. However, the rugged robot survived the blast, the company reports.
This latest contract for the Talon robot is via the Naval Surface Warfare Center as the contracting activity, and work completion is anticipated by next March.
