Will the force be with VADER?
France has two VADER aircraft in service with a third expected in 2023. (Photo: Jean-Marc Tanguy)
The first ISTAR aircraft developed by the French Air and Space Force will be sent to Mali in July.
For eight years France has leased light ISR aircraft from CAE Aviation for operations in the Sahel as well as in the Central African Republic, Iraq and Libya.
However, starting in July 2021 the French Air and Space Force expects to deploy its own light surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft (based on the Beechcraft King Air 350) under the overdue Vecteur Aéroporté de Détection, d’Orientation et de Reconnaissance (VADER) programme, formerly known as ALSR.
Two King Air 350s were delivered in July 2020 by Sabena Technics and Thales under a contract dating from June 2016.
A third, scheduled for delivery
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
More from Air Warfare
-
![Paris Air Show 2025: Embraer chalks up another win as Lithuania picks C-390]()
Paris Air Show 2025: Embraer chalks up another win as Lithuania picks C-390
Just this week Portugal signed for a sixth C-390 with the add-on of an option for 10 for other NATO countries. In April, Sweden signed for four and in December last year Slovakia agreed to buy three, while in the same month an undisclosed country agreed to buy two.
-
![Paris Air Show 2025: Aarok to be offered to India]()
Paris Air Show 2025: Aarok to be offered to India
Turgis Gaillard and Bharat Forge have signed an MoU to offer the Aarok, produced in India, to the Indian Ministry of Defence. The UAV could satisfy the country’s desire for an indigenous MALE UAV, offering an alternative to the TAPAS BH-201 that has had a rocky development.
-
![Paris Air Show 2025: Airbus and France sign framework agreement for VSR-700]()
Paris Air Show 2025: Airbus and France sign framework agreement for VSR-700
The framework agreement is for the future acquisition of the system under the French Navy’s SDAM programme. The agreement also paves the way for cooperation with other nations via government-to-government agreements.
-
![Paris Air Show 2025: Milkor and Hanwha partner to integrate the latter’s SAR payload into the Milkor 380]()
Paris Air Show 2025: Milkor and Hanwha partner to integrate the latter’s SAR payload into the Milkor 380
Hanwha Systems and Milkor announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Paris Air Show to integrate the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system into the Milkor 380 drone.
-
![Paris Air Show 2025: A400M production moved forward as development plans outlined]()
Paris Air Show 2025: A400M production moved forward as development plans outlined
It is more than a decade since the Airbus A400M tactical lift aircraft entered service. More than 130 aircraft are in service around the world with nine countries, while another order has been made by Indonesia. The company is now looking to lower operational costs and increase the number of potential missions.
