Various UAV and UCAV Designs from Europe

[Voltzz]

Again an UAV i can find very little information on:
The Fokker Space 'MATE' tube launched reconnaissance uav.

Searching for 'Dutch Space' instead of 'Fokker Space' gives much better results:

The EADS head office used to be at Schiphol, but nowadays is located in Leiden, on the site of
Dutch Space. In July 2006 Dutch Space became fully owned by Astrium NV (the former EADS
Space BV).[13] Dutch Space has approximately 200 employees and an annual turnover of 52
million euros (2009).[14] The company is involved in the development of components for the
Ariane 5 rocket launch system.[15] It also develops 'MATE', a portable unmanned vehicle (UAV)
for close-range reconnaissance.[16]

Source

And through that source i found the archived product page by Dutch Space:

MATE
Dutch Space is developing mate: a Man-portable Aerial Terrain Explorer. Mate is a portable unmanned vehicle (uav), meant for millitary close-range reconnaissance (up to 5 km). Mate has a maximum 60 minutes flight-endurance.

One man can carry and operate the light-weight system. The system consists of a small tube-launched uav with deployable wings and fins, in combination with a lap-top sized ground-station.The recorded video-images of the camera on board of the air-vehicle are immediately down-linked for real time display on the screen of the ground-station.
After a short mission-planning the onboard auto pilot receives the mission flight after which the vehicle will fly fully autonomously. Also the launch and deployment of the wings/fins will be carried out automatically. If necessary, the preprogrammed mission-flight can be updated during flight.

Source

Thanks to flateric for the help

 

[Voltzz]

IAT (International Aerospace Technology) was a German company that developed two UAVs in the late 80s:
The MK-105 FLASH was a multipurpose UAV primarily designed for recon tasks
The MK-106 HIT was a delta-wing loitering munitions for anti-radar or anti-tank roles.

 

[Voltzz]

Project V 87 was a Dornier (DASA) concept for a HALE UAV.
The only information on it is 13m length, 25m wingspan and operating height >17km

 

[muttbutt]

Saab acquires UK AI drone maker BlueBear

Saab has acquired UK-based AI drone developer BlueBear Systems Group for an undisclosed sum

www.eenewseurope.com

 

[hesham]

Project V 87 was a Dornier (DASA) concept for a HALE UAV.
The only information on it is 13m length, 25m wingspan and operating height >17km

Hi Voltzz,

may this series (V87) was begun with DASA itself ?.

 

[Voltzz]

Hi Voltzz,

may this series (V87) was begun with DASA itself ?.

My post contains literally all information i have found on V87. The source is from when Dornier was already part of DASA, but the project might very well be of older origin. To be honest i dont think there was much work done on it, t seems like just a paper project.

 

[Voltzz]

The MK-106 HIT was a delta-wing loitering munitions for anti-radar or anti-tank roles.

I found another interesting detail on HIT in an old (2014) post by @hesham in this forum here
Its an article from Popular Mechanics (1992/1) that mentions the IAT HIT as one of the competitors for the US Close-Range Unmanned Aerial Vehicle requirement.

 

[alberchico]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1709164029191590326

View: https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1709164029191590326


Looks like the Aarok UAV has found its first customer. Surprising since Ukraine is also planning to aquire the Akinci UAV from Turkey.

 

[muttbutt]

KNDS and Naval Group demonstrate swarm technology with unleashing 100 drones in joint French Army demo | Defense News October 2023 Global Security army industry | Defense Security global news industry army year 2023 | Archive News year

Nexter and Naval Group demonstrate swarm technology with unleashing 100 drones in joint French Army demo

www.armyrecognition.com

 

[alberchico]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1723600538493759952

View: https://twitter.com/RAeSTimR/status/1723600538493759952

UAE-based EDGE Group acquires 50pc stake in Polish personal jet maker Flaris

The FLARIS company was established in 2012 for the purpose of serial production of LAR 01. Flaris brand is planning to expand to a wider variety of aircraft manufacturing facility. Popularization of affordable GA aircraft will be the unique features of the brand. UAE-based advanced technology...

fl360aero.com

UAE firm EDGE Group rolls out 11 new drones, missiles at Dubai Airshow - Breaking Defense

"We're always looking at making investments in autonomous capabilities, precision guided munitions and electronic warfare," Miles Chambers, Edge Group vice president of international business, told Breaking Defense.

breakingdefense.com

So this very light jet from Poland is being developed into an armed drone with UAE funding. I don't know how practical this concept is. A clean sheet design would have been more capable. This reminds me of the UCAV version of the Piaggio turboprop that also went nowhere.

 

[Voltzz]

The Fokker Space 'MATE' tube launched reconnaissance uav.

Found a photo (looks like a model at an exhibition) and a short description here (in portuguese )

Fokker has revealed an ultra-light unmanned vehicle concept developed for the Norwegian Army known as MATE (Man-portable Aerial Terrain Explorer). The vehicle is low-cost, light (6kg) and has a range of 30 minutes with an operational range of 5km. It is designed to improve situational awareness at the company or platoon level. It is 90cm long and is ejected from a tube by pressure up to 50-60 meters high in mortar style. The wings are then unfolded to a width of 2.4m. After launch, MATE flies in a pre-programmed pattern using a laptop with a serial interface at an altitude of 300m with GPS for navigation. Can send images from a mirror-stabilized CCD camera via line-of-sight radio including internal GPS data. Night vision sensors can be installed but they reduce autonomy by 5 minutes due to the increase in weight. It can be in action in less than 10 minutes including mission planning by clicking on the location of waypoints on the digital map displayed on the laptop. It can be recovered at a pre-established flight point, but in principle it is disposable. Typical cost is $20,000 based on a requirement of 600-800 vehicles.

 

[muttbutt]

Cyprus based CyRIC AGS is developing the Spear-22 Loitering munition.

Spear-22 – Zypriotische Loitering Munition auf EDEX 2023 vorgestellt

Das zypriotische Unternehmen CyRIC AGS hat auf der Anfang Dezember ausgerichteten Rüstungsmesse EDEX 2023 seine Loitering Munition vom Typ Spear-22 gezeigt.

soldat-und-technik.de

google translation

According to manufacturers, the payload should be able to be up to 15 kg at a maximum take-off weight of 40 kg. This can consist of different sensor packages and active load charges. According to CyRIC, both snap-in heads with splinter and hoe-charge battle heads can be retrofitted. Due to the modular design, the Loitering ammunition can also be used for pure reconnaissance mission without a battle head with subsequent recycling after landing and also extremely easy to maintain. In the transport position with folded wings, the Spear-22 is 244 cm long and can be carried both from a starting container from the ground or carried by aircraft as an external load. The manufacturer gives the range, depending on the payload and type of use, or Starting height with 60 km to 120 km. The flight time varies between 45 and 90 minutes. The electric drive with an air screw in the rear can accelerate the Spear-22 to a top speed of up to 140 km/h.