First 3 Thales mini-drones Authorized for Delivery to French Army

The French MOD’s armaments procurement agency, DGA has authorized the delivery of three ‘Spy Ranger’ mini-drones made by Thales to the French Army.

Following verification operations on site of Thales and on the DGA Techniques site, the DGA has authorized the delivery by Thales to the French Army of the first three mini-systems (SMDR), a DGA release said today.

Intended to ensure detection, recognition and identification missions, they succeed the DRAC system (contact intelligence drone) in service since 2008. Delivered to the Technical Section of the French Army (STAT) they will user-tested and deployed by the end of 2020. They will be operated by the mini-drone sections of the 61st Regiment of artillery (61st RA).

Equipped with a high definition optronic payload working day and night, it will offer increased detection, recognition and identification performance. With a wingspan of almost 4 m and a weight of 15 kg, the drone has an autonomy of around 2:30 hours.

The system is deployed in 12 minutes by a team of two combatants (installation of the launch pad, assembly of the drone, initialization of the ground station and carrying out tests before takeoff). Thanks to its data link, the drone can transmit high-definition video streams up to 30 km from the ground station in real time and in a reliable and secure manner.

The 2019-2025 DGA Procurement Plan provides for the delivery of 10 other reconnaissance mini-drone systems before the end of 2020. The army will have a fleet of 35 systems by 2021. These systems will receive support in terms of training, logistics and maintenance for 10 years.

According to Thales information, the Spy Ranger new-generation system gathers and transmits accurate, operational beyond-line-of-sight image intelligence for joint battle-group and brigade-level units. It is interoperable with France's multi-sensor image interpretation and dissemination system (MINDS/SAIM) to generate imagery that can be used directly for frontline mission planning and multi-sensor maneuvers by forward units.