EADS Eagle unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to be delivered to the French air force next year will be equipped to fly in civilian airspace. "This airworthiness aspect is fundamental in Europe," says AgnŠs Ferragu, EADS marketing director for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems. "France wants to use its three Eagles for peacekeeping and not only in times of crisis, so it is vital they fit into civilian airspace."
The Eagle will have three onboard computers, dual-redundant electrical flight controls, four split control surfaces on wing and tail, and automatic take-off and landing with both line-of-sight and laser-tracker back-up, "which enables the UAV to land on a different runway than originally planned", says Ferragu. EADS is also developing a "see and avoid" system to detect air traffic.
A satellite link will enable the medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV to undertake 24h missions up to 1,000km (540nm) from base. "It would take the Eagle 6h to reach its zone of operation 1,000km away, giving it 12 operational hours before it has to begin its return trip," says Ferragu.
The Eagle 2, now in pre-development, will have twice the Eagle 1's payload capacity, at 500kg (1,100lb), and fly at 45,000ft (14,000m) instead of 25,000ft and 250kt (460km/h) instead of 80-125kt.
Source: Flight International
