Chilean army flies UAV

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SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- An unmanned aerial vehicle prototype developed by the Chilean army has successfully completed its first flight test.

Lascar, as the UAV is called, has been under development the army, in collaboration with the University of Concepcion and private business, since 2008 and was flown in Chile's Biobio region.

"It gives us a lot of pride and satisfaction to all see how the army, our army of Chile, in conjunction with the University of Concepcion, a magnificent and traditional institution of this region, and the private sector come together to develop an unmanned aircraft that will allow us to do so much in a country with so many challenges in terms of natural disasters," said Chilean Defense Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter following the test flight.

Chile said it aims to use locally produced UAVs for monitoring of water sources, volcanoes and natural disasters as well as rescue operations, fire monitoring and fisheries surveillance.

Specifications of the UAV and details of the first test flight weren't disclosed by the Ministry of Defense.