NATO’s Thunder Wasp GT Drone by Patria & ACC Revealed

Finnish defense company Patria and Swedish drone maker ACC Innovation AB have signed a cooperation agreement to jointly develop a military version of the quadcopter-style Thunder Wasp GT drone for military use by NATO member nations.

The collaboration is the initial step in a long-term strategic alliance to militarize ACC Innovation’s heavy-lift Thunder Wasp GT quadcopter drone, with a take-off weight capacity of up to 1763 pounds (800 kg). The industrial unmanned aerial system will be heavily adapted to suit the demanding operational requirements of NATO forces.

A Hayabusa powered drone

The military configuration is being developed to operate in the extremely demanding Arctic operational environment shared by the Nordic countries, with enhanced mission planning capability, navigation under extraordinary conditions, payload management, secure links for data communication, and end-to-end mission outcome analysis.

NATO’s New 1763 lbs (800 kg) Quadcopter for Extreme Missions

“Patria’s extensive research and development heritage is a good foundation for the launch of new smart capabilities to drone systems,” said Mikko Leino, Patria’s Executive Vice President of Operations. “Patria has extensive experience in defining and integrating necessary functionalities for military use onto chosen platforms to achieve desired performance. We observe that the militarization of such a completely new type of capability has several potential applications in today’s dynamically changing operational environment.”

Max Drougge, CTO at ACC Innovation AB, emphasized the strategic importance of the collaboration: “We are pleased to announce our partnership with Patria, a collaboration marking a major milestone in the design and deployment of next-generation aerial platforms. Our technological experience in high-performance quadcopter systems, paired with Patria’s extensive background in defense innovation, will enable us to venture into new skies for autonomous and heavy-lift aerial technologies.”

ACC Innovation has particular advantages through its close location to Linköping, Sweden’s “aeronautical capital.” The company has a large hangar complex at Västervik airport, including Sweden’s largest test flying facilities for drones, and has flight permits for testing operations just next door to its production facility in Åtvidaberg.

Patria has been developing full technologies and solutions for unmanned military missions during the last couple of years. The Finnish defense contractor solution spans the entire life of a mission, with platform-independent solutions to connect the utilization of unmanned systems for the military and security authorities.

The partnership places the two firms in a position to address the growing need for heavy-lift drone capabilities for NATO troops, a significant leap in autonomous airborne technology for defense purposes for Nordic operational environments.

Photos courtesy of Patria Group. Videos courtesy of ACC Innovation AB