TALON in demand

Defence and security services company, Qinetiq North America, has been awarded $58.5m in funding to provide additional TALON robots and replacement parts for the US Army and Navy.

Defence and security services company,

North America, has been awarded $58.5m (£39m) in funding to provide additional TALON robots and replacement parts for the US Army and Navy.

TALON robots are mainly used to aid soldiers in detecting and disabling roadside bombs.

A total of 2,500 TALON robots currently operate globally, with a large number of them deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The new orders include a further $48m against the new $400m contract awarded in May by the Robotic Systems Joint Program Office and an additional $10.5m against the $295m contract awarded by the Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division.

Dr William Ribich, president of Qinetiq’s Technology Solutions Group, said: ‘TALON continues to play a vital role in the defeat of roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan.

'In addition, our soldiers and marines are constantly exploring new ways to deploy the robots and maintain their own safe stand-off distances in all types of challenging situations.

Register now to continue reading

Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of news stories. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our news coverage, as well as premium content including opinion, in-depth features and special reports.  

Benefits of registering

  • In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends

  • Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year

  • Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox