In several cases, the Altus will undertake missions at a much lower cost but also risk in some cases, which until now were carried out by the manned helicopters of the Fleet.
Another step in the equipment reinforcement of the Navy and the Hellenic Armed Forces in general is the receipt of the five new A900 Altus unmanned helicopters of Greek manufacture. In the next 24 hours, the new acquisitions of the Fleet will arrive at the Kotroni Marathon Helicopter Base, since the five Altus will from now on be organic helicopters on frigates of the Navy together with S-70 Aegean Hawk and AB-212s until the first powerful MH- 60 Romeo.
At the same time as the receipt of the five unmanned A900s, the training of the Navy Officers who undertake to fly and maintain the new UAV helicopters of the Fleet was also completed. The Altus will take off just like the organic helicopters of the PN and will be attached to the frigates where their operators will be waiting for them. And on top of the ships of the Fleet they will undertake missions wherever they sail in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
The acquisition of the unmanned helicopters proceeded with fast track procedures and was quietly completed by the Navy within just eight months after the signing of the relevant contract with the Greek manufacturer Altus LSA as Newpost had revealed last November. With the signing of the agreement, the training of Navy Officers and the test flights of the prototype unmanned helicopter at the Marathon Base began. The total cost of both the acquisition of the five A900 Altus and the maintenance and training of the staff amounted to 2 million euros. In addition, the cost includes the base systems that will be placed on the ships on which the Altus will operate.
The five unmanned helicopters enhance the operational capabilities of the Fleet especially in the complex environment of the Aegean where surveillance is a priority. The Altus will be the “eyes” of each ship since they will “scan” the sea around the Units from which they will operate in a wide radius. With the possibility of launching and relaunching from a moving frigate, they will be able to fly continuously for four hours in a radius of up to 25 km from the ship. They will fly at an altitude of up to 10,000 feet while moving at a speed that will reach 58 km per hour. The A900s with NATO specifications will continuously provide an image from the surface of the sea to the base ship essentially constituting a valuable tool for multiple missions from surveillance and control of maritime areas to targeting enemy Units.
In several cases, the Altus will undertake missions at a much lower cost but also risk in some cases, which until now were carried out by the manned helicopters of the Fleet.
Together with the organic helicopters of the PN and especially when the state-of-the-art Romeos are received – the agreement already provides for the acquisition of seven with the acquisition of three more given – they will form a duo that will take off the operational capabilities of the Fleet. How much more so when the Navy will start receiving the French FDI frigates from the beginning of 2025.
