LatinNews Daily - 08 December 2010

Brazil's own unmanned airborne vehicles (UAVs, or VANTs in the Portuguese acronym) have been tested in the field for the first time in November, in the biggest military exercises conducted in the southeast of the country this year, codenamed Agulhas Negras ('Black Needles'), which involved 4,500 troops simulating confrontation with an invading army. Three VT-15s were deployed to carry out surveillance and target location for the artillery. These drones can rise to an altitude of 4,000 feet and have a range of 15 kilometres.