Antonov to Manufacture French AAROK drone in Ukraine

French firm, Turgis & Gaillard has signed an agreement with Antonov Company to manufacture a version of its AAROK attack-reconnaissance drone in Ukraine.

The agreement was signed during the visit of the French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu to Kyiv last weekend.

French media, LaTribune reported this quoting its sources. No details of the agreement was provided.

The AAROK drone is a medium altitude long endurance (MALE) UAV carrying a variety of sensors and weapons depending upon the mission.

A prototype of the AAROK drone was displayed during the Paris Air show in June this year. It was revealed then that the AAROK is a 5.5 tonnes class UAV. The parent company of Aarok is Turgis & Gaillard.

The AAROK carries out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions using high-performance optronic and electromagnetic sensors, according to the company website.

With its large payload capacity, AAROK can deliver standoff weapons, and perform missions such as close air support, air interdiction on high value target, strike coordination and reconnaissance, suppression of enemy air defense.