French battle lab ready to test Avatar mini-drone sharpshooter
Avatar next to a French Army Tiger attack helicopter, pictured on 6 October 2022. (Photo: Jean-Marc Tanguy)
Experiments with Avatar are a chance for France to prepare for the certification of armed UAVs.
The DGA Techniques Terrestres (DGA TT) battle lab for the French Army will test an armed UAV for the first time by the end of 2022.
The Avatar UAV — a DJI Matrice 600 COTS drone equipped with an Heckler & Koch HK416D assault rifle — weighs 15.5kg with mission endurance of 17 minutes. It has an holographic targeting sight and a laser designator that triggers alerts on outfits worn in training by soldiers.
A remote pilot handles the flight while another operator uses the weapon.
The DGA wants to study how to use armed UAVs offensively, but above all
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