French military chooses Sagem Défense Sécurité to study future joint tactical UAVs
PARIS, 23 Nov. 2006. The French defense procurement agency (DGA) has awarded Sagem Défense Sécurité in Paris a contract to conduct a joint vertical take off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) study. It covers the definition study of a VTOL UAV that meets joint French army and navy needs.
The goal of the study, which lays the base for future UAV programs, is to define a UAV able to operate in conditions ranging from takeoff in mountainous terrain and in hot weather to landing on a naval frigate in bad weather and high seas.
Sagem Défense Sécurité engineers are studying a solution based on the Eagle Eye convertible UAV from Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, following on a teaming agreement signed in June 2004 between the two companies to offer European armed forces a new generation of VTOL UAVs.
The study combines Sagem Défense Sécurité's know-how in designing UAV systems with a helicopter manufacturer's expertise. It calls on skills ranging from the electronic mission system to propulsion, which must provide the required power reserve for use in the specified conditions.
As a technological breakthrough, the U.S. Coast Guard chose the Eagle Eye tilt rotor UAV for the largest maritime protection program in the world: Deepwater.
A distinguishing feature of the UAV is its wide range of use. It is well adapted to protecting forces faced with traditional or asymmetric threats, maritime surveillance and public service missions. Thanks to its speed (twice that of conventional helicopters UAVs) the Eagle Eye offers increased efficiency due to its ability to be quickly deployed in areas of interest and span vast swaths of sea and land.
For the design study of joint tactical VTOL UAVs, the mission electronics of the project of Sagem Défense Sécurité (i.e. payload, ground station, data links) will be designed on a common base with that of the tactical Sperwer UAV developed and produced by Sagem Défense Sécurité for five countries' armed forces: Canada, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, and France.
For more information contact Sagem Défense Sécurité online at www.sagem-ds.com.
