Army buys spy drones for Afghan mission

[RotorPilot]

Friday, August 08, 2003[color=" black"][/color]
[COLOR= red] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= red]Army buys spy drones for Afghan mission[/COLOR]
[COLOR= red]$33.8-million contract: Unmanned French planes increase troop safety during high-risk operations[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black][/COLOR]
[FONT= ''Times New Roman''] [/FONT]
[FONT= ''Times New Roman'']National Post[/FONT][FONT= ''Times New Roman''][/FONT]
[FONT= ''Times New Roman'']Chris Wattie[color=" black"][/color][/FONT]
The Canadian Forces has bought four French-built spy drones for use in the army''s deployment to Afghanistan, John McCallum, the Defence Minister, announced yesterday.
The $33.8-million contract for the high-tech unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was awarded to Oerlikon-Contraves Inc., of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., the subcontractor for the French firm that builds the drones, the Minister said in a news release.

Full story:
[url="http://www.nationalpost.com/national/story.html?id=4A8B506A-81BF-45C8-B8F2-E63672FF68BD"]http://www.nationalpost.com/national/story...F2-E63672FF68BD[/URL][FONT= ''Times New Roman''][/FONT]
[FONT= ''Times New Roman''] [/FONT]
[FONT= ''Times New Roman''] [/FONT]
[FONT= ''Times New Roman'']If you want to see the new “birdâ€￾ [/FONT]
[FONT= ''Times New Roman''] [/FONT]
www.sagem.com[FONT= ''Times New Roman''][/FONT]
[FONT= ''Times New Roman''] [/FONT]

You have to click first on:

1 Products
2 Then Defense
[FONT= ''Times New Roman'']3 [/FONT]Then Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Its one of those sites with a single address to all pages…

 

[graunch1]

I saw the SAGEM UAV in person a couple years ago at their factory just S. of Paris. It is quite a neat package with a small wooden prop designed to break off on landing rather than wreck the power plant. Probably less than 1/4 the size of the US Preditor-type UAVs. While I was visiting, they were flying a unit over Denmark and I was in the control trailor watching the "pilot" fly it down a road above some trucks. All done by satellite link from probably 1000 km away. The main
use is surveillance but you can mount a couple things that go bang on some hard points. Glad to see Canada bought some to go with their small recce vehicle that the Yanks are all drooling over.

 

[Fully Articulated]

I have heard that these will be flown by Griffon Pilots.... Is that the real goods or will the Army fly them?

 

[Batfink]

In light of the 1 CAD decision to put ERSTA on the back burner, it is comforting to know that the Military and the Government still recognize the importance of stand off Recce.

Reference the burning Griffon at grid.... <_<

 

[Demon AESOp]

I'm pretty sure that these things will be flown (if you could call it that) by Aurora Navigators. I'm told its pretty much all auto-pilot controlled. Punch a waypoint into a laptop kinda thing, I suppose.

Misson sensors will be handled by Aurora AESOp's. Just a FLIR as far as I know.


Wahunga!