British Army uses Australian 40mm Drone40 in Mali for Operation Newcombe


The Australian designed and manufactured DefendTex Drone40 (D40) is in Mali with the British Army’s contingent on Operation Newcombe, Overt Defense reports. Several hundreds Drone40s are believed to have been purchased by the UK Task Group, Joseph Trevithick reports on The War Zone/The Drive.
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DefendTex Drone40 (Picture source: British MoD)


The Drone40 was tested in October 2020 during Mission Rehearsal Exercise build-up training for the Mali deployment, Joseph Trevithick recalls. The Light Dragoons and Royal Anglian Regiment have deployed as part of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA) in Mali. Their assgnment to provide long range surveillance patrolling for the UN contingent is an excellent operational framework for the 40mm drone.

Australian firm DefendTex developed the device with the assistance of a federal Defence Innovation Contract to encourage Australian businesses to innovate in the defense field. Overt Defense reported its debut at the 2019 SOFIC or Special Operations Forces Industry Conference. The round can be loaded with a variety of payloads including counter-UAV hard and soft kill options, flashbangs and chemical smoke along with kinetic options.

The original DefendTex 40mm design, developed to be launched from a stand-alone or under-barrel 40mm grenade launcher has now been joined by variants in a range of larger calibres including mortar delivered 60, 81 and artillery delivered 155mm options.