Multi-million Euro military and civilian maritime contract wins accelerate expansion plans at unmanned helicopter specialist’s dual facilities in Sweden and Switzerland; production of world-leading NATO-compliant rotary UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) SKELDAR V-200 ramps up with outsourced partner Scanfil and investment in VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) R&D programmes.
Europe’s leading provider of Rotary Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platforms, UMS SKELDAR, has ramped up its workforce and accelerated production lines for the world-leading rotary VTOL UAV ‘SKELDAR V-200’ and its variants to fulfil a string of new contract wins.
The company has experienced impressive growth to almost 100 full-time employees over the past 12 months with an increase of 74% in Linköping, Sweden, and 35% in Möhlin, Switzerland, and is still actively seeking to fill positions with a recruitment drive in both locations for technical experts including design engineers, pilots, project managers and mechanics.
In addition, UMS SKELDAR is working with more than 20 consultants, with at least five earmarked to transfer to full-time roles, plus full time dedicated technicians and operatives employed by the outsourced manufacturing operation at Scanfil’s Swedish plant manufacturing facility at Åtvidaberg, just 30 kilometers south of UMS SKELDAR’s Swedish base in Linköping.
Axel Cavalli-Bjorkman, CEO of UMS SKELDAR, the joint venture between Saab and UMS AERO GROUP, explained:
“With significant numbers of orders, we have planned a ramp up of resources and that includes the highly skilled technical workforce and management teams who design, build, fly and maintain our rotary UAV portfolio.
This is an exciting time for UMS SKELDAR and underlines that the worldwide strategic focus on navy and maritime customers was exactly the right decision leveraging our unmatched capabilities. These include NATO STANAG (Standardisation Agreement) compliance such as the Hirth heavy fuel engine which in turn has allowed us Time Between Overhauls (TBO) far superior to any of our competitors and the confidence of proven payload sensors such as the ViDAR optical radar systems.”
The manufacturing and customer acceptance and flight training programmes run in parallel with a targeted global marketing and business development strategy, led by head of business development David Willems, who explained:
“Our formula of work winning against long-term target customers in sectors including maritime, has allowed us to focus on priority and substantial contracts that enable us to further enhance our R&D operations in parallel with an unprecedented build schedule.”
Meanwhile, UMS SKELDAR continue to build strategic international relationships including:
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Cavalli-Bjorkman concluded:
“Our support for twin operations in Sweden and Switzerland with centres of excellence for prototype manufacturing and testing, supported by R&D and avionics and software development, plays to the considerable strengths of our multinational workforce of experts and highly motivated individuals working as one team.”
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08/10/2019 |UMS SKELDAR demonstrates for the first time full scale model of SKELDAR V 200 with ViDAR pod
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23/07/2019 |UMS SKELDAR partners with leading Swedish Aviation Technical Training School as part of initiative to increase standards across the industry
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17/04/2019 |UMS SKELDAR V-200 now monitoring ship emissions in Danish waters.
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28/02/2019 |UMS SKELDAR chooses Australia for the world debut of its first full-scale mock-up of V-200 with Wescam™ MX8 sensor
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29/11/2018 |SKELDAR V-200 VTOL UAV selected for multi-million Euro contract with European Maritime Safety Agency
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21/11/2018 |UMS SKELDAR partners with ESG on successful demonstration of manned – unmanned teaming (MUM-T) of helicopters
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15/11/2018 |SKELDAR V-200 to discuss NATO rollout strategy at NIDV Defence Symposium in Rotterdam
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13/11/2018 |UMS SKELDAR demonstrates flagship V-200 at one of the world’s most influential oil and gas industry events, ADIPEC
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22/10/2018 |UMS SKELDAR joins forces with Scanfil to create dedicated volume production line for flagship unmanned helicopter
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15/10/2018 |UMS SKELDAR briefings at Helitech International 2018
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05/09/2018 |UMS SKELDAR confirms unmatched sensor capability in rotary UAV sector
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16/08/2018 |GERMAN NAVY SELECTS SKELDAR V-200 TO PROVIDE UAV RECONNAISSANCE CAPABILITY
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04/08/2018 |UMS SKELDAR and Airflite announce exclusive MRO partnership to service Australasia market for rotary UAV
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16/07/2018 |UMS SKELDAR commitment to Australia base confirms Pacific Rim as priority market for rotary UAV’s
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16/07/2018 |UMS SKELDAR focus on naval power UAV roll out with next generation V-200 announced at Farnborough
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30/05/2018 |UMS SKELDAR and QinetiQ Target Systems announce partnership at CANSEC
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21/05/2018 |UMS SKELDAR UNMANNED HELICOPTER FOCUS AND STRATEGIC PROGRAMME SPOTLIGHTS AUSTRALIAN PARTNERS
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01/05/2018 |UMS SKELDAR ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF THE ASSETS OF GERMAN GLOBAL ENGINE MANUFACTURER HIRTH
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24/04/2018 |UMS SKELDAR showcases NATO-compliant unmanned helicopters with partner ESG at ILA Berlin
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07/02/2018 |UMS SKELDAR EXEC VISITS SINGAPORE AIRSHOW 2018 TO SHOWCASE ROTARY UAV DUO
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22/01/2018 |UMS SKELDAR V-200 UAS selected for unmanned surveillance role in OCEAN2020 programme by European Defence Agency
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30/11/2017 |Netherlands Navy Focus: Skeldar V-200 Maritime Integration Showcased At NIDV Defence Symposium In Rotterdam
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23/11/2017 |UMS SKELDAR and ESG complete week-long R-350 flight demonstrations for Bundeswehr
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11/11/2017 |UMS SKELDAR launches new R-350 VTOL platform as part of ‘dynamic duo’ line up with flagship SKELDAR V-200 at Dubai Airshow
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25/10/2017 |Peace-keeping role in Korea envisaged for SKELDAR V-200
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04/10/2017 |UMS SKELDAR confirms regional focus with commitment to a base in Australia by 2018
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03/10/2017 |SKELDAR V-200 confirms its status as pioneer of heavy fuel capabilities
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13/09/2017 |UMS SKELDAR leads UAS industry with award of first AS/EN 9100 Standard
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12/09/2017 |UMS SKELDAR and JetLease launch first global UAV leasing platform
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20/06/2017 |UMS SKELDAR and Sentient sign MOU to provide ViDAR with NATO-compliant rotary SKELDAR V-200
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12/06/2017 |UMS SKELDAR showcases the role for rotary UAVs at international Unmanned Cargo Aircraft Conference.
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20/02/2017 |UMS SKELDAR spotlights SKELDAR V-200 at IDEX as part of ISR and SAR requirements in the Middle East
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12/12/2016 |UMS SKELDAR extends partnership with ESG by adding high-tech sensors to its UAV portfolio
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28/09/2016 |UMS SKELDAR joins forces with partner ESG at German Navy Workshop
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26/09/2016 |UMS SKELDAR eyes pole position as UAV partner of choice for world navies
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10/08/2016 |Training programmes in Asia-Pacific
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09/06/2016 |UMS SKELDAR signs enhanced partnership agreement with ESG to include SKELDAR V-200.
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30/05/2016 |UMS SKELDAR joins forces with ESG at ILA Berlin International Airshow
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04/05/2016 |UMS SKELDAR LANDS EUROPE’S FIRST NATIONAL UAV LICENSE
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18/03/2016 |QinetiQ chooses UMS SKELDAR for Welsh Government project
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