Leonardo has announced at the Avalon airshow in Geelong, Australia, that the company has been selected by Schiebel to supply its PicoSAR active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar technology for Camcopter S-100 unmanned air system (UAS) being provided to the armed forces of an unidentified North African nation.

The selection follows the PisoSAR recent contract with Safran Electronics & Defense for the French Army's Patroller UAV.

The radar system will be used to support border-monitoring and anti-terrorism surveillance missions. PicoSAR will be delivered in 2017 and go into service the same year.

This is the second time that the lightweight (10kg) radar has been chosen by Austria-based Schiebel, the first being in support of a surveillance service contract. The two companies have also demonstrated a multi-sensor suite that included the PicoSAR and Leonardo's SAGE electronic warfare system on the UAS to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and UK MOD, amongst others.

Leonardo is promoting PicoSAR, as well as its Osprey 30 radar and SAGE system to Australia as sensor options for the UAS, which the RAN selected in December 2016. Osprey was recently selected for the US Navy's new MQ-8C Fire Scout UAS.