Army Patrolman
Artistic vision of the Patrol in flight with suspended equipment.
After many years of use by the French army of the SDTI (Système de drone tactiques intérimaire) unmanned reconnaissance system, which was put into service in 2005, it was decided to purchase a new system of this type - SDT (Système de drone tactique). The competition, announced in the fall of 2014 by the Directorate General of Armaments (Direction Générale de l'Armement - DGA), was attended by two companies: the French company Sagem (since May 2016 - Safran Electronics & Defense) and the European concern Thales. The first offered the Patroller, introduced for the first time in 2009, the second - the Watchkeeper camera, already known and developed for the UK. The French design has previously undergone several rounds of test flights, including testing in civil airspace in November 2014. The watchman, although he already had a baptism of fire in Afghanistan, conducted tests of this type on September 30, 2015.
On September 4, 2015, both organizations submitted their final proposals. The decision on the choice of supplier was to be made by the CMI (Comité Ministériel d'Investissement, Investment Committee of the Ministry of Defense) by the end of December 2015. On January 1, 2016, the verdict was announced regarding the supplier of the SDT system for the Armée de terre - after testing both machines , By decision of the DGA and STAT (Section method de l'armée de terre, chief of technical services of the ground forces), the Patroller Sagema system was chosen. The rival Watchkeeper of Thales (actually the British branch of the Thales UK concern), being the undisputed favorite in this trial, unexpectedly lost. Safran will eventually deliver two SDTs by 2019, each consisting of five flying cameras and one ground control station. Another four devices and two stations will be used for operator training and as a reserve of equipment (thus, a total of 14 UAVs and four stations will be built). The winning company also maintains the equipment in working order (MCO - Maintien en condition opérationnelle) for 10 years. It was confirmed that the decision on the results of the tender was sent to the bidders on January 20 this year, and at the same time it was announced that it would be officially confirmed by MMK in February. The decisive factor, of course, was the fact that even 85% of Patroller will be created in France, while in the case of Watchkeeper this share will be only 30÷40%. It is assumed that the contract will provide more than 300 new jobs. Of course, this decision was also influenced by the failure of the Anglo-French program to strengthen military-technical cooperation. If the British had ordered the French RVI/Nexter VBCI (now KNDS) that they had previously shown interest in, the French would probably have opted for the Watchkeepers.
The Patroller unmanned aerial vehicle, which is the basis of the SDT system, is based on a simple, reliable and mass-produced design - the Stemme Ecarys S15 manned motor glider. It will be able to stay in the air for up to 20 hours, and its maximum flight altitude is 6000 m. The device weighing 1000 kg can carry a payload of up to 250 kg and move at a speed of 100÷200 km/h. . Equipped with an advanced Euroflir 410 optoelectronic head, it will be able to perform reconnaissance missions both day and night. The first Patrollers will be delivered in 2018. For many observers, the choice of Sagem's offering came as a big surprise. The winning concern, Thales, has delivered more than 50 of its platforms to date as part of a program launched for the needs of the British Army, and Watchkepeer also successfully passed its baptism of fire during operations over Afghanistan in 2014.
On April 5, 2016, in Montlucon, at the Safran Electronics & Defense plant, a ceremony was held to sign a contract for the purchase of an SDT system for the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of the French Republic. The contract was signed on the supplier side by Philippe Peticolin, President of Safran, and on the DGA side, by its CEO Vincent Imbert. The contract value is 350 million euros.
