The Dominator and the Guardian are an unmanned and optionally manned platforms based on the Diamond Aircraft DA42 Twin Star twin engine aircraft. The Dominator is a fully autonomous platform modified by Aeronautics Defense Systems from Israel. Since Dominator is based on a comerciall airframe certified by civil aviation authorities worldwide, it has immediate access to the military and commercial market.

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and Israel’s Aeronautics defense Systems have signed a memorandum of understanding to market the DA42 Dominator unmanned aircraft system internationally. Aeronautics and Austrian based Diamond have been developing the Dominator, based on an unmanned version of the Diamond’s Aircraft DA-42 twin-star two-engine aircraft for the past two years. The Dominator made its first flight in July 2009. The aircraft has recently flew with an advanced payload configuration, carrying a wide area electro-optical aerial surveillance payload providing potential users unique persistent coverage of large areas.

According to Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing Military Aircraft, the collaboration with Aeronautics to market the DA42 Dominator will expand Boeing’s offering with a wider range of MALE solutions to current and potential customers, both domestically and internationally.

Diamond Aircraft offers the manned aerial surveillance platform - Guardian for law enforcement, homeland security and civilian missions. As a manned platform, Guardian can fly in civilian airspace, where UAVs cannot.

The DA42 Dominator is designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions with an all-composite construction that provides durability, reduced maintenance and lower aircraft weight to enhance mission endurance.

The DA42 is marketed as an optionally piloted vehicle in the USA by Aurora Flight Sciences. An unmanned system based on the DA42 is also offered by the Russian company Irkut.

Photos: Tamir Eshel

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