French Spy Arrow in flight
Ian Kemp, Special Correspondent
Paris
The Thales Spy Arrow micro-UAV was among the projects which France’s Délégation Générale de L’Armement (DGA) defence procurement agency and the Groupement des Industries Françaises de Défense Terrestre (GICAT) land defence manufacturers association chose to highlight in the innovation area at Eurosatory 2008.
Spy Arrow is described by Thales as a ‘low cost, multi-payload, micro-UAV system’. Development of the system has been funded by Thales with the DGA financing the development of some mission specific components.
Two versions of the Spy Arrow, which resembles a miniature jet fighter, are in development. Designed for day operations the Spy Arrow LW (Low Weight) has a maximum take off weight (MTOW) of 500 gr including a 100 gr payload which can be any suitable COTS video camera; it has a 2 km line of sight transmission range.
The Spy Arrow HC (High Capacity) variant weighs 1,200 gr, including a 200 gr payload, and is being developed for night operations. It carries an IR sensor developed by Thales; images can be transmitted to a maximum range of 3 km. Both variants are fitted with a common IR sensor for flight stabilisation. Payload options include chemical and biological sensors which can detect the presence of contamination and return with atmospheric samples for evaluation.
The Spy Arrow can be carried and deployed by a single operator and it requires no specialist skills as the UAV is fully autonomous from take off to landing. It has a cruising speed of 50 to 100 km/h and an endurance of 30 minutes. Made of a soft material, with a rear-mounted engine and single pusher propeller the Spy Arrow is described as ‘intrinsically safe’.
Thales has developed mission software which can be installed on any suitable laptop computer to serve as a ground control station. At the request of French special force Thales is developing a complete package including GCS, antenna and carriage system.
Convoy protection is one of the major missions for which the Spy Arrow is being developed. The UAV will flight a pre-programmed pattern and the software package will create a digital ‘mosaic’ of the area. For this role Thales is proposing that the Spy Arrow could be used in conjunction with a vertical take off and landing UAV.
One of three Spy Arrow prototypes recently delivered is being used for trials by an unspecified French special forces unit while the others are being evaluated by the army’s technical establishment. The service is planning to conduct an operational evaluation in Afghanistan. Thales is scheduled to deliver a small number of low rate initial production Spy Arrows early in 2009.
The French Army’s Bulle Opérationnelle Aéroterrestre (‘air-land operational bubble’) concept, now under development, calls for the deployment of UAVs and UGVs down to the individual section and vehicle levels within some combat arms units to provide maximum situational awareness.
France spends more on defence research than any other European country; the DGA awards €700 million in defence research contracts each year, accounting for about 35 per cent of the annual European expenditure in this sector. More than €60 million of these contracts are awarded to very small enterprises, and small and medium enterprises.