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EADS EAGLE
With less than two years of operations, Europe's largest defense
company EADS has also become a leading source of unmanned aerial
vehicles, offering a whole range from the smallest micro-drones
through high speed tactical drones and naval drones, up to strategic,
high-flying unmanned surveillance aircraft such as Eagle and Eurohawk.
Growing and diversifying its portfolio through mergers, acquisitions and joint
ventures, EADS now musters a complete spectrum of missionp-tailored
platforms, systems and basic core components. A primary system currently
in production for the French Air Force is the Eagle I, developed
by Israel Aircraft Industries and EADS Matra in response to a French
Air Force requirement for strategic intelligence missions at an
altitude up to 25,000 feet, and flight duration of up to 24 hours.
Eagle has satellite communications capability, and is equipped
with multiple sensors, including Electro-optics (Day/Night) sensor
integrated with a laser designator for locating and designating
ground target for attack, as well as Synthetic Aperture Radar and
signal intelligence sensors. Eagle competed against the General
Atomics Predator and won; EADS will deliver the UAV equipped with
a Rotax 914-115 hp engine, customer specified payload, and an Elta
EL/M-2055 Synthetic Aperture radar.
EADS and IAI are already developing a larger version called Eagle II, which
will be equipped with a PT6A 1,200 hp turboprop engine and operate
at altitudes up to 40,000 feet. The Eagle system is especially suitable
for full integration with commercial air traffic, and can thus operate
in the busy airspaces over Europe.
Eagle-I and -II are positioned to meet most of the Medium Altitude-Long
Endurance requirements currently called for by potential customers.
EADS is capitalizing on its proven experience in the design and
development of the complete systems architecture as well as core
components of the joint Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance
network, previously performed in individual members of the EADS
group, such as Matra, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, and CASA. Such
integration includes mission control, data exploitation and transmission
and specific payloads for ELINT and COMINT missions.
By Tamir Eshel
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