Year begins well for Qinetiq

The North America operations (QNA) of the one-time UK Ministry of Defence operation had seen strong activity and a recent reorganisation of its IT services division across the company’s Systems Engineering and Mission Solutions divisions positions it well to build on core strengths, the company said. In the Technology Solutions Group shipment levels of Talon robots (pictured), widely used for remote bomb disposal, remained strong with over 2000 now delivered to the US Department of Defense. In Europe, Middle East and Australasia (EMEA) the year had also started satisfactorily and the outlook remained in line with expectations. In the UK Qinetiq continues to provide MOD with offerings such as the £24 million, ten year award to provide through-life support to sustain the Harrier aircraft programme through the remainder of its service life. Unmanned vehicles continued to be a key area of focus, Qinetiq said. This was evidenced by the company’s close involvement in the UK's Mantis airborne Unmanned Autonomous System programme and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Vulture air vehicle programme which will create a new category of ultra-long-endurance aircraft.