Paris Air Show: NATO brokers Greek deal to acquire Safran UAVs

The Greek Army has chosen Safran Electronics & Defense to modernise its UAV inventory, adding four new Patroller tactical drones to its current Sperwer fleet. 

The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) was tasked by the Greek government to enter into negotiations with Safran. In February 2023 it became the first tactical UAS to be certified to NATO's STANAG 4671 airworthiness standard.

Based on the Stemme S15 aircraft, Patroller has a small logistic footprint which, according to Safran, reduces operating costs. The aircraft is powered by A 115hp Rotax 914F engine.

Related Articles

Safran demonstrates Patroller surveillance capabilities at OCEAN2020

Greece gets new Israeli Orbiter 3 drones under Spike deal

Paris Air Show: Romania orders first batch of Watchkeeper X drones

The UAS can be operated both manually and autonomously with an LoS range of 200km and a range with SATCOM of 1,000km.

Patroller is typically fitted with a Euroflir 410 EO/IR pod for ground surveillance, combined with a COMINT sensor or synthetic aperture radar detecting moving targets. 

The platform can be fitted with a multimode surveillance radar for maritime missions, enabling long-range detection of maritime activity over a large zone. 

This version also includes an Automatic Identification System (AIS) to perform ship classification, with final confirmation performed with the Euroflir 410.

In 2016, the French Army selected the Patroller for its Tactical Drone System (SDT) requirement. Safran received a contract worth approximately $341.7 million in April that year to deliver three Patroller systems comprising 14 UAVs and five GCS between 2018 and 2019.

Greece took delivery of a total of 16 Sperwer UAVs.

Related Programmes in Defence Insight

Patroller (Unarmed) [Greece]

Related Equipment in Defence Insight

Patroller