The Vienna-based organization told the Austria Press Agency (APA) the unmanned and unarmed Camcopter drones made by Austrian company Schiebel will be used to support its Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to monitor the situation on the border between Russia and Ukraine, in particular with regard to the current cease-fire.
The technology will be used to monitor larger areas and to collect information in real-time, which the OSCE will then decide if it will make public.
The OSCE said it was the first time it had used such technology and equipment as part of its operations, and stressed that at no time will the Camcopter drones be armed either at present or in the future, and that their use is solely for reconnaissance and surveillance.
Under the contract Schiebel will provide a minimum of two of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) along with a control station, six operators, and three technical staff. Their operation is expected to begin at the end of September or in early October.
Total expenses for the arrangement are not yet known, the APA report stated, though will be paid for by the OSCE participating states.
Sources: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
13/9/14
--
-
Related:
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Poroshenko allows OSCE observers to use drones in eastern Ukraine...
ReplyDeleteKIEV, September 13. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko on Saturday allowed monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to use drones in the east of the country.
The issue was raised in a telephone conversation between Poroshenko and Swiss President and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter, the presidential press service said.
Poroshenko and Burkhalter discussed the work of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and the need to monitor the ceasefire in eastern regions of the country.
They agreed to increase the number of monitors and provide them with better technical means for monitoring and verification.
The OSCE Secretariat told ITAR-TASS earlier that the drones would be used to monitor the Ukrainian-Russian border and compliance with the ceasefire agreement reached in Minsk on September 5.
The drones will be supplied by the Austrian company Schiebel. It will provide two S-100 vertical take-off and landing drone systems, a control station, six operators, and three mechanics.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/749477
13/9/14
Austria is ready to boost its efforts within the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and provide drones to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine in order to control the situation in the country’s east, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said Monday...
ReplyDelete“Our mission is not only to support peaceful settlement through the provision of Austrian observers within the OSCE, but also to provide 10 Austrian UAVs that would allow controlling the conflict territories and accelerating the process of peaceful settlement,” the Austrian foreign minister said, as quoted on the Ukrainian President’s official website.
The statement was made during Kurz’s meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev earlier in the day.
According to the Austrian diplomat, his country is also increasing its medical assistance to Ukraine, which will target as a priority seriously wounded civilians in the eastern regions.
“It is symbolic that Austria, as well as the entire EU, is with us in such a difficult situation,” Poroshenko said in turn, expressing gratitude for the assistance Austria is providing Ukraine.
Poroshenko expressed hope that in the near future the number of OSCE monitors will be increased, with Austrian experts joining in the efforts.
On September 13, Poroshenko gave the OSCE the go-ahead for the use of drones during its observer operations in Ukraine.
http://en.ria.ru/world/20140915/192966941/Austria-to-Provide-Ten-Drones-to-OSCE-to-Monitor-Ceasefire-in.html
15/9/14