Entretanto na Tailândia, algo que pensei que nunca mais ia ver: uma UAV baseado no Diamond DA42.
Dominator XP commissioning
(4 de Agosto de 2023)
On 1 September 2023, the Kong Thap Akat Thai (RTAF, Royal Thai Air Force) held a commissioning ceremony at Takhli air base for the Dominator XP. The ceremony showed one aircraft, tailnumber 506, as the centrepiece of the celebration.
The Dominator XP aircraft is a Diamond DA42 Twin Star, heavily modified by the Israeli Auronautics Defence Systems into a Medium Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The mission system is characterised by a multi-purpose payload such as Engagement Operations (EO), Search and Rescue (SAR), Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) and Communications Intelligence (COMINT).
In 2018, Thailand ordered three DA42 Dominators with Aeronautics Ltd. (Israel). The contract was valued at USD 27 million. The Dominators will be operated by the newly erected 302sq, subordinate to the 3rd Wing.
The new aircraft received the local designation BR.T.3. This comes after two other dedicated survey aircraft, being B.T.1 for the Percival P.54 Survey Prince 3A and B.T.2 for the O-1 Bird Dog.
Fonte: https://www.scramble.nl/military-news/dominator-xp-commissioning
Cumprimentos,
Isto é algo que deverá ser cada vez mais comum no futuro. Já tínhamos visto o MQ-8C baseado no Bell 407, e não me chocava se tal acontecesse com Cessnas e outras aeronaves civis, baratas e produzidas em massa. Quanto mais houver no mercado, mais facilitada será a logística.
Um dia que substituam os TB-30, a FAP que os guarde bem, não vá surgir a ideia de os converter em drones.