Spy’Ranger family growth reflects appetite for unmanned ISR
Spy’Ball (foreground of picture) was developed by French SME Merio but it is now produced by Thales. (Photo: Jean-Marc Tanguy)
For the time being, the French Army is the only operator of the Spy’Ranger 330 UAS but its big brother, the Spy’Ranger 550, already has an undisclosed export launch customer.
The aircraft was presented at the SOFINS trade show in Bordeaux on 29 June-1 July, indicating that Thales intends to sell it to special forces.
The 5.2m-wingspan Spy Ranger 550 offers mission endurance of 5h and an operational range of 50km. Data from Thales shows that 20 of the UAVs have already been ordered.
Pascal Secretin, product line director for imagers and sensors at Thales Air Systems, claimed ‘we had
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
Read this Article
Get access to this article with a Free Basic Account
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 2 free stories per week
- Personalised news alerts
- Daily and weekly newsletters
Unlimited Access
Access to all our premium news as a Premium News 365 Member. Corporate subscriptions available.
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 14-day free trial (cancel at any time)
- Unlimited access to all published premium news
More from Air Warfare
-
NATO’s Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability moves ahead with development contracts
The Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) programme is a transnational effort across NATO to replace a range of helicopters which are expected to begin retiring from the mid-2030s.
-
Raytheon strikes deal with new rocket motor maker to secure supply chain
Raytheon has seen increased demand for its missiles in the face of the Russia-Ukraine war where Kyiv has been using air-to-air missiles for ground-based air-defence.
-
European Common Radar System Mk2 begins ground-testing in UK
BAE Systems hopes to work out any issues before the radar is sent for flight testing.
-
Boeing to upgrade software for KC-46A tanker
The KC-46A upgrades will improve the platform’s mission readiness, performance in challenged airspace and rapid deployment capabilities.
-
Dutch and Austrian governments collaborate on Embraer C-390 acquisition at Farnborough
The two nations will split the acquisition of the C-390s to boost their airlift capacities.