Rhodri Celebrates More militarisation of Wales with qinetiq

MOD awards qinetiq contract to deliver part of the major ...
Epicos.com (press release) - Switzerland
qinetiq's support for the development of the Welsh Assembly Government initiative at parcaberporth in West Wales as a "Centre of Excellence" for Unmanned ...
The £800million Watchkeeper project is designed to provide the UK armed forces with a specialised surveillance and reconnaissance capability and will be evaluated within the unique environment that exists in West Wales. The announcement follows 15 months of promotion and planning by a team comprising QinetiQ, West Wales Airport and the Welsh Assembly Government, and culminated in detailed negotiations with the MOD's Tactical UAV Integrated Project Team (TUAV IPT)........
"MOD's decision to site Watchkeeper test and evaluation in Wales reinforces the role of ParcAberporth as a site of worldwide importance for unmanned system development," stated Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government. "This is a major coup for Wales, and follows five years of planning, investment and development as part of our long term strategy to create the ParcAberporth centre for unmanned systems. Watchkeeper is a major milestone in putting this strategy into action, and will provide a significant beneficial impact to the regional economy through the local support services needed for the contract. It is believed that this programme will act as a springboard for attracting other UAV and aerospace technology businesses to the area and we look forward to working with such businesses and welcoming them to Wales."

Qinetiq to test for UK mod's Watchkeeper UAV programme Flight International - USABarbara CockburnThe deal forms part of the Thales UK-led Watchkeeper UAV programme, and means that Qinetiq will carry out a variety of airborne test and .....................

Technology firm Qinetiq is to provide the UK Ministry of Defence with airborne and ground-based testing work for its unmanned air vehicle operations, in a contract worth £5m ($10.3 million).

The deal forms part of the Thales UK-led Watchkeeper UAV programme , and means that Qinetiq will carry out a variety of airborne test and evaluation elements at ParcAberporth, Wales , over the next 18 months, also using the MoD's adjoining Aberporth air range.