Sagem was one of the first (1995) to supply the armed forces with a tactical drone (Crécerelle) which, with its SPERWER successors, now affords it a leadership position in this category in the Western world. In the long-range category, it also offers BUZARD type drones.
Recent development include small and even very small portable drones that can be transported on men's backs, and which can often be assembled in the field and "launched" by hand. This meets both national security needs and those for equipping foot soldiers of the future (French FELIN program and sequels) where a miniature drone is a natural development. Sagem is also at the forefront in this field. The full range of products offered is presented below, in ascending order of size and range.
ODIN: very short-range drone system for foot soldiers
- Vertical take-off/landing
- Propulsion: electric
- Weight: 4 kg
- 30 minutes endurance
- Missions/payload:
- Camera: day/night
- Transmission: digital
- Ground workstation(s): portable
MERLIN: mini-drone system for close-range operations
- Take-off/landing: manual launch
- Portable kit, assembly in the field (5 minutes)
- Wing span: 1.7 meters (half that of "standard" solutions)
- Propulsion: electric
- Weight: 6kg (with payload of 0.8kg)
- Endurance: 1 hour between 55 and 75 km/h (range of around 10km)
- Missions/payloads:
- Gyrostabilized micro-pod with automatic pursuit. Equipped with a choice among the following:
- Daytime camera: color with x10 zoom
- Day/night thermal camera: uncooled IR (FELIN type)
- Day/night camera: IL EBCMOS (FELIN type)
- Transmission: Digital C-band (5GHz) – Range > 7km
- Ground workstation(s): Workstations with 2 touch pads (SITEL type)
Crécerelle: tactical drone system, historical pioneer
- Ramp take-off, parachute recovery
- Propulsion: 2 cylinder 25HP thermal engine
- Weight: 145kg plus payload of up to 35kg
- Endurance: 3 to 5 hours (and more), between 130 and 240 km/h
- Options:
- IR single-line scanner (120° field, 8-12-micron spectrum), visible CCD (30-90°) or panoramic CCIR camera
- Swivel suspended cameras: CCD camera or zoom, 3-5 or 8-12 micron spectrum IR camera. Detection range > 6km
- Synthetic aperture radar: scanning width 4km, range 8km
- Other options: electronic countermeasures; air/meteorological sounding
- Transmission: 2.7GHZ band, 100km range
- Ground workstation(s): dedicated vehicles with enhanced mission planning and mission outcome analysis functions
SPERWER: multinational tactical drone system
Ramp take-off, parachute recovery
Standard versions, long endurance (B) and high speed/low altitude (HV)
Propulsion: 2 cylinder 25HP thermal engine
Weight: 330 kg MTOW (maximum take-off weight) plus payload of up to 45kg
Endurance: 6 hours (and more), between 130 and 240km/h
Missions, payload: EUROFLIR optronic gimballed pod, radar
brochure 1 - brochure 2 - brochure 3
SPERWER-B: double payload and endurance
With endurance of up to 2,000km and a payload of up to 100kg, SPERWER-B offers top-of-the-range tactical reconnaissance. Its endurance of up to 12 hours can be optionally extended up to 20 hours.
BUZARD: long-range drone system
For several years, Sagem has been developing its very long endurance drone range such as the BUZARD: 25 hour-endurance, 18-meter wing span (total weight 1,100kg) and cruising speed of 150 knots (nearly 300 km/h). The payload includes maritime surveillance radar and an EUROFLIR gyrostabilized optronic pod. A SIGMA 95L ring-laser gyro inertial unit (with GPS hybridization) controls navigation/guidance and secure redundant avionics is used for flying.
