QinetiQ sells 59 Banshee Whirlwind targets to Indonesia.

QinetiQ’s Target Systems business signed a contract to supply 59 unmanned Banshee Whirlwind targets to Indonesia in May 2019, helping the customer to better prepare for adversary threats.

The Banshee Whirlwind is one of a range of remotely piloted aerial targets offered by QinetiQ Target Systems. The system has achieved worldwide acclaim and is in service, or has been operated under contract, in over 30 countries (Picture source: QinetiQ)

The equipment has now been delivered and the customer training has been completed and signed off.

The Banshee whirlwind is powered by QinetiQ’s rear-mounted rotary engine and provides accurate and reliable flight profiles of over 100 km, reaching flight altitudes of over 7,000 metres, while a radar altimeter allows the target to achieve reliable sea skimming flight as low as five metres.

The order is evidence that despite the growing demand for unmanned next-generation transonic and supersonic targets that QinetiQ is designing, developing and bringing to market for customers - for example, the Next-Generation Banshee (Banshee NG) launched last year at DSEI - earlier models from the Banshee family of targets are still in demand from many customers.

Banshee NG, showcased at DSEI 2019 (Picture source: Army Recognition)

QinetiQ’s portfolio of unmanned targets for sea, air and land, enable countries to train with moving unmanned targets as opposed to static targets, to be more prepared for adversary threats and thereby supporting the company’s purpose “To save lives, protect sovereign interests and deliver where others can't.