International Battlefield UAVs (2)
Encyclopedia
Multiple unmanned aerial vehicles for battlefield use (battlefield UAVs) are operational in countries around the world, with even more currently in development. This article deals with those in countries other than United States. For the numerous unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...

s from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 see US battlefield UAVs.

French UAVs

Matra BAE Dynamics developed a UAV named Dragon, no relation to the BAI Dragon. The Dragon was roughly the same size as and similar to the Crecerelle, with the same pusher-prop delta configuration, except that instead of having a single tailfin mounted on the fuselage, the Dragon had a tailfin on each wingtip. It was intended as a jamming platform. It seems to have dropped out of sight, possibly because the French Army acquired the Crecerelle for the jamming mission.

Russian UAVs

Yakovlev is currently working on two new tactical UAVs:
  • The "Albatros" is a tiltrotor
    Tiltrotor
    A tiltrotor is an aircraft which uses a pair or more of powered rotors mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles at the end of a fixed wing for lift and propulsion, and combines the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft...

     design along the lines of the Bell Eagle Eye
    Bell Eagle Eye
    -References:* This article contains material that originally came from the web article by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain.-External links:** * ....

    , except that it has an inverted-vee tail. It will have a 120 kW (160 hp) engine, seven-hour endurance. The range is limited to 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) by the command-data radio link. It is primarily focused on shipboard applications.

  • Details of the "Expert" are unclear, but it appears to be a small battlefield surveillance UAV, of the sort usually launched by a bungee catapult.

EADS Orka, Scorpio, Surveyor

  • The European Aerospace & Defense Systems (EADS) company is currently promoting a number of UAVs. One, the "Orka", is a UAV helicopter with an airframe length of 6.2 meters (20,3 feet) and a weight of about 700 kilograms (1543 pounds) for use by the army and on naval vessels. It is currently favoured as the likely replacement for the larger and heavier SEAMOS helicopter UAV that was abandoned by the Germans.


The Orka is derived from a light helicopter the Cabri
Guimbal Cabri G2
|-See also:-References:* -External links:* * * * *...

 built by Hélicoptères Guimbal of France. It has a conventional helicopter configuration, with a three-bladed main rotor with a diameter of 7.2 meters (23.6 feet), an enclosed "fenestron" tail rotor favoured by the French, and landing skips. There is a sensor turret under the nose and an antenna or sensor drum under the belly between the landing skids. The production Orka is expected to have an endurance of 8 hours and a payload of 150 kilograms (331 pounds).
  • The EADS "Scorpio" is a much smaller battlefield helicopter, focused on special operations. It is also of conventional helicopter configuration, with a two-blade main rotor with Hiller-type stabilization paddles, an exposed two-blade tail rotor, and landing skids. A sensor turret may be fitted between the landing skids. There are several variants in the Scorpio line:

  • The 13 kilogram (29 pound) "Scorpio-6" flies at 35 km/h (22 mph) and has an endurance of an hour.

  • The 40 kilogram (88 pound) "Scorpio-30" flies at 50 km/h (31 mph) and has an endurance of two hours.

  • The EADS "Surveyor" is still in preliminary investigation phase. It will be a fixed-wing, jet-powered UAV and is being positioned as a replacement for the CL-289. EADS is currently working on a demonstrator, the "Carapas", modified from an Italian Mirach 100 drone. The production Surveyor would be a stealthy machine with a top speed of 850 km/h (530 mph), an endurance of up to three hours, and capable of carrying a sophisticated sensor payload, including SIGINT gear. It would also be able to carry external loads, such as air-dropped sensors or light munitions.

Other International Battlefield UAVs

  • The Belgians were actually early adopters of battlefield UAVs, introducing the "Epervier (Sparrowhawk)" UAV
    MBLE Épervier
    -See also:...

     in the early 1970s. It was built by Manufacture Belge De Lampes Et De Materiel Electronique SA (MBLE) of Belgium
    Belgium
    Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

    . Epervier prototypes were propeller-driven, but the production Epervier UAV, the "X.5" model, was fitted with a Rover TJ125 turbojet with 510 N (52 kgf
    Kilogram-force
    A kilogram-force , or kilopond , is a gravitational metric unit of force. It is equal to the magnitude of the force exerted by one kilogram of mass in a gravitational field...

     / 114 lbf
    Pound-force
    The pound force is a unit of force in some systems of measurement including English engineering units and British gravitational units.- Definitions :...

    ) thrust. It was launched by a RATO booster and recovered by parachute.


It had a boxy fiberglass fuselage with a rear-mounted truncated-delta wing, a single tailfin, and winglet fins at the end of each wing. It had a length of 2.25 meters (7 feet 4 inches), a wingspan of 1/72 meters (5 feet 8 inches), and a launch weight of 142 kilograms (313 pounds), The Epervier has now been replaced by the IAI Hunter, which was obtained by the Belgian military with Belgian-specified systems.
  • Not to be outdone, India's rival Pakistan
    Pakistan
    Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

     has also developed a number of battlefield UAVs. Pakistan's "Air Weapons Complex (AWC)" has completed development of their "Bravo" battlefield surveillance UAV, and is now in service with law enforcement and border security organizations. The Bravo is apparently a fairly conventional piston-powered small battlefield UAV, has a composite airframe, a maximum payload of 20 kilograms (44 pounds), and a radius of action of up to 80 kilometres (49.7 mi). It is guided by a preprogrammed navigation system. The AWC "Vision-1" is an improved version of the Bravo, , and AWC also makes a high-altitude reconnaissance drone, the "Vector", as well as two target drones, the "Nishan" and the "Hornet".

  • Croatia
    Croatia
    Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

     has fielded a series of tactical UAVs, beginning with the MAH-1, which are said to strongly resemble IAI Malat tactical UAVs and were likely developed with Israeli assistance.

See also

  • History of unmanned aerial vehicles
    History of unmanned aerial vehicles
    Unmanned aerial vehicles, known variously as UAVs, drones, and remotely piloted vehicles , have been a feature of aviation for much of its history, though often overlooked. For the purposes of this article, and to distinguish UAVs from missiles, a UAV is defined as being capable of controlled,...

  • History of unmanned combat aerial vehicles
  • US battlefield UAVs
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