American defense company AeroVironment announced earlier this week the Project GOLD software update for Puma 3AE and Puma LE reconnaissance drones, developed to increase their combat effectiveness in contested environments.
"The software-only upgrades ensure Puma UAS can continue mission-critical tasks autonomously and securely, reducing reliance on GPS and enhancing survivability in hostile areas," the company said in a statement.
Read more: American RQ-20 Puma Drone Hunts for russian S-300 SAM, TOS-1 Systems, Other Weapons
Here are the four main updates that the company announced:
- support for advanced navigation and synchronization capabilities in GNSS denied environments;
- enhanced capabilities using the Visual Navigation System (VNS);
- improved radio communication security;
- a 60% increased payload capacity through software fix.
As noted by the manufacturer, these updates will "allow warfighters to maintain operational superiority, even when adversaries attempt to disrupt critical systems, ensuring greater mission success and survivability."
Most importantly, AeroVironment says the updates will be available for all newly-made Puma systems as well as those deployed previously. The improved software does not require any hardware modifications.
Earlier, Defense Express covered what makes Puma effective on the battlefields of Ukraine and listed some of the valuable targets it helped to destroy, including the russian S-300 long-range air defense systems, TOS-1 thermobaric artillery systems, and other weapons of the russian invasion army.
Read more: How Boeing Views Ukraine War Lessons in Developing Future Apache Versions
