The Patroller, the tactical drone developed by Safran, gained its certification on Wednesday, paving the way for its delivery to the French military three years late, the company’s CEO Olivier Andriès said on Friday.
“The Patroller was certified the day before yesterday by the DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement), it is ready to fly, ready to be used in operations,” announced the head of the aeronautics and defense group, presenting its results.
Initially scheduled for 2020, deliveries of the drone were postponed after a crash during a test flight in December 2019. The avionics software that drives the flight control systems then needed to be revised.
14 hours of battery life
Certification validates the design and safety of an aircraft, thus authorizing it to fly in civil airspace.
The Army must receive fourteen copies and five control stations capable of monitoring an area within a radius of 150 kilometers with a fourteen-hour autonomy.
The Patroller is equipped with an optronic ball that allows it to see in the visible and infrared range, and lasers that allow it to designate targets.
The drone could in the future also be armed with missiles or rockets if so decided by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, which will require some further development.
Safran is prepared for this and has offered the DGA to be a “pilot operator” of the policy desired by the ministry in the framework of the “war economy” aimed at favoring “specification as needed” to avoid dizzying development costs. according to Mr. Andries.
Source: BFM TV
