On November 10, the DGA announced that it had delivered to the Ground Force (Armée de Terre), on October 25, five new intelligence mini-drone systems (SMDR) pursuant to a contract notified at the end of 2016 to the company Thales. The SMDR is a medium-range surveillance drone system designed to collect real-time, day and night, environmental and target acquisition information.
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The French Army received 23 Thales SpyRangers as of today and will have a fleet of 35 systems by 2023 (Picture source: Thales)

This system of mini-drones allows the Army to strengthen its intelligence capability as close as possible and beyond the contact zone. Each system consists of three identical Spy'Ranger drones and a ground station. Equipped with a high-definition optronic ball operating day and night, these aerial vectors offer increased detection, recognition and identification performance compared to that of their predecessor (the DRAC, contact intelligence drone). With a wingspan of almost 4 m and a weight of 15 kg, the drones have an autonomy of around 2h30.

The system is deployed in 12 minutes by a team of two soldiers: installation of the launch pad, assembly of the drone, initialization of the ground station and performance of the tests before takeoff. Thanks to its data link, the drone can reliably and securely transmit high-definition video streams in real-time up to 30 km from the ground station.

The SMDRs have been deployed in overseas operations as part of Operation Barkhane since the end of 2020. The Army received 23 systems as of today and will have a fleet of 35 systems by 2023. The contract, worth 120 million euros, provides support in terms of training, logistics and maintenance for 10 years.

The range of Spy'Ranger mini-drone systems developed by Thales provides units deployed on the front line with autonomous intelligence gathering and offensive reconnaissance capabilities, allowing them greater versatility, better protection and seamless connection.

Spy'Ranger was designed from the outset as a family of systems intended to perform a wide range of missions with an optimized logistics footprint. This range currently includes two models: Spy'Ranger 330 and Spy'Ranger 550. Although the cells are adapted according to the mission profile, both systems use the same high-definition day/night payload, secure data links and a power chain. The ground control station and user interface are identical to allow operators to easily switch between systems.

Thanks to its data link, the drone can reliably and securely transmit high-definition video streams in real-time up to 30 km from the ground station (Picture source: DGA)