Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturer Sanswire Corp. of Aventura, Fla., has sold a 50 percent interest in one of its mid-altitude aircraft to asset tracking firm Global Telesat Corp. (GTC) of Katonah, N.Y., according to an April 27 Sanswire press release.
GTC agreed to pay $250,000 for one-half of a SkySat lighter-than-air UAV platform, with an option to take full control of the craft for an additional $750,000 by the end of the year.
The SkySat UAV was originally designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data collection from an altitude of about 13 kilometers. Sanswire and GTC intend to modify the craft for “multipurpose defense and communications operations,” the press release said. The companies will work with other U.S. defense contractors to integrate approved ground station controls and electronics packages into the aircraft. The press release did not identify a specific customer for the aircraft.
Sanswire and GTC previously collaborated to develop the STS-111, a lighter-than-air UAV that began flight testing in December, the release said.
