UAVs Used by French Army, Navy, and Air Force

[Researcher Seohyun Park, Aviation Guidance Division, Defense Agency for Technology and Quality] The French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) announced that it has ordered Anafi USA unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Parrot. A total of 300 units will be supplied, including 150 quadcopter-type UAVs to be initially delivered to the French Air Force, Navy, Army regular forces, and special forces.

The French Ministry of Defense stated that this small UAV will be used for reconnaissance for operational units and for deployment on naval vessels, as well as supporting military base security.

According to the Ministry of Defense, product deliveries will begin in June, and under the contract, additional annual orders for training purposes will be placed over the next five years, with the possibility of adaptive development of this UAV. The Ministry plans to allocate 60% of the products delivered over the next five years to the Army, 28% to the Navy, and 12% to the Air Force and Space Force.

Parrot stated that the small UAV is part of the Anafi product line, designed to meet international military requirements, and through this, it will enhance the reconnaissance capabilities of the French military. This quadcopter-type UAV weighs 500g, has a flight time of 32 minutes, and is equipped with day and night observation capabilities. Additionally, using the 32x zoom capability provided by two 21-megapixel cameras, it can detect human-sized targets at a distance of 2 km with a detail accuracy of 13 cm.