"It will provide additional help in reconnaissance, surveillance and intelligence activities. On the other hand it also has dual-purpose equipment, enabling it to take part in activities by the Civil Protection and other state institutions in natural disasters, locating wildfires and perhaps also in monitoring the country’s borders," said minister Katič at the presentation.
The Slovenian Army was forced to upgrade its capabilities with the purchase of equipment for one battalion - in this case for the unmanned aerial vehicles systems - because of its NATO commitments. The investment program was prepared at the Ministry of Defence and an open call for bids was published in March. Five bidders applied for the contract.

Among the five bidders the Ministry of Defence decided to accept the offer of the C-Astral company from Ajdovščina, which offered the most favourable price. For an amount of 375.000 euros, apart from the unmanned system which includes three drones, a launcher and a set of spare parts, the company also offered training for operating the system.

Although flying unmanned aircraft is currently restricted in Slovenia, the restrictions do not apply to the Slovenian Army.