By Jean-Michel Guhl
Boulogne-Billancourt, France, 24 September 2015 — Sagem (Safran) and Egyptian manufacturer AOI-Aircraft Factory have signed an exclusive commercial and industrial collaboration agreement concerning the Patroller MALE surveillance drone system to address the requirements of the Egyptian Ministry of Defense. The Patroller main mission will be to provide medium altitude round-the-clock surveillance of the Suez canal, as well as stealthy reconnaissance and monitoring of the country’s extended desert borders often used by Muslim terrorist organization to smuggle handguns and ammunitions.
According to the terms of this agreement, AOI-Aircraft Factory could handle final assembly of Patroller drones in its Egyptian plants using Stemme S15 motor-gliders platforms imported from Germany, and avionics as well as optronics suites imported from France. The agreement also covers system support and commissioning of the Patroller. AOI-Aircraft Factory will develop a dedicated training center in Egypt to train staff for the operation and maintenance of Sagem’s drone systems.
Developed in France by Sagem, the Patroller is a versatile long-endurance tactical drone system. It features an open, modular design to handle a broad spectrum of military and security missions, while carrying a multi-sensor payload of up to 250 kg, either in the fuselage or pod-mounted under the wings. The Patroller offers endurance of more than 20 hours, and an operating ceiling of 20,000 feet. Sagem has already conducted a flight demonstration on Patroller showing the simultaneous operation of different sensors: optronic (electro-optical) pod, radar, electronic warfare (EW) system, distress beacon detector and automatic identification system (AIS) receiver.
The Patroller’s design draws on ten years of experience with Sagem’s Sperwer drone system to support operations in Afghanistan with Canadian, Dutch and French armed forces. With this new weapon deal, Egypt is now clearly becoming France’s leading arms purchaser in the naval and aviation fields.
