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The French army has received its first Spy'Ranger mini UAVs from Thales. They will replace the DRAC system (contact intelligence drone) in service since 2008.
The first drones were delivered to the mini drone sections of the 61st regiment of artillery. Up to 70 systems will be delivered to the French army. (1 system = 3 drones,so 210 drones)
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 3 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.
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.
