Drone

Definition

In English a drone indicates also a false-bumblebee (male of the bee). The name was given to the drone undoubtedly because of a physical resemblance or by its product and perhaps with the resemblance to the word Droïde.

It is righter of speaking about system of drone. Indeed, the drone belongs to a system which is made up:

of one or more air vectors;
of one or more stations ground of order;
of data links between the vector and the ground part. The drone term will indicate the vector most of the time.

The family of the drones includes/understands five main categories:

mini drones;
tactical, slow or fast drones, with fixed or revolving aerofoil;
drones of average altitude, long MALE endurance indicated;
the strategic drones, still called HAULS (high-altitude, long endurance);
combat drones, still called UCAV.

More particularly used by the Military S, the first drones were tested by the German army starting from 1938 in the form of glide bombs anti-ship radiocontrolled and of the bombs anti-tank device and wire-guided tracked vehicles , then by the American during the war of the Vietnam for the photographic Reconnaissance and like Cible S mobiles for the drive with the Aerial combat and the shooting of DCA.

Machines flying of reduced size, less expensive and simpler to implement than a Plane (the presence of a human pilot being one of the elements more dimensioning for the design of such a system), they are also more discrete and their loss is not as heavy of consequence as that of a complete apparatus and of its pilot. They represent, from the fact, an interesting alternative to the countries whose budget is limited like to the potential terrorists (official or not), thanks to their low costs of manufacture and use.

As technologies, data processing in particular, progress, the drones can be used as platform of designation of target or as Arme S. They are also used like precursors of operations, often at ends of collection of Renseignement S. Its missions are then of the Surveillance and the Reconnaissance.

Their civil applications include controls on the traffic, air research operations and of rescue, the harvest of data for the weather prediction, the Relais of information…

Their sizes are varied: of a few centimetres to several meters. Their forms also, just like their types of Propulsion: some are equipped with engine S, others of Hélice S, when others use rotors, following the example Hélicoptère S. Of the terrestrial drones start to also make their appearance.

Lastly, some are used quite simply as technological demonstrators, validating with lower costs, thanks to the reduction of scale and thus the quantity of materials necessary, certain aerodynamic formulas or certain equipment, without to risk the life of a test pilot.

This type of tests makes it possible to reach the limits of an apparatus, by exceeding those which a pilot can support (+9 G /-3g maximum), in order to confirm solidity of it.

Classification

The classification of the drones is a very difficult exercise, in measurement or it is different according to the countries.

The air drones can be classified according to three criteria:

the Altitude: altitude considered is the altitude of cruising with the following orders of magnitude: average altitudes 5000 m < H < 8000 m; high-altitudes: H > 17000 m;
the Endurance, definite as the time which can spend the Aéronef in flight, i.e. autonomy. An order of magnitude of a endurance known as long is from 40 to 50 hours;
the length.

The technical field of the drones can break up into three segments:

drones Tactical S;
drones of average altitude and long endurance (MALE) allowing to use a payload of about 100 kg;
drones of high-altitude and long endurance (HALE).

The tactical segment breaks up itself into five segments:

microphone-drones ( Micro Air Conveys or MAV), which are connected more with small-scale models;
drones of very short range (TCP);
drones average carried slow (multicharges multimissions or slow MCAS);
fast drones low altitude (fast MCAS);
tactical maritime drones (DMT).

Some drones in service

Germany/Spain

EADS Barracuda

The United States

RQ-1 Predator
RQ-3 Dark Star
Total RQ-4 Hawk
RQ-7 Shadow
Eagle Eye
Sky Tote
X-45

Canada/Germany

CL-289 PIVER
LUNA

Russia

MBVK-137
POUSTELGA
CL-289 PIVER
REIS-D
Pchela-1T
ALBATROSS (Yakovlev)
EXPERT (Yakovlev)

Switzerland

ADS 95

Turkey

TIHA

France

Brevel abreviaton of Bremen - VELizy, Franco-German co-operation, abandoned under development
Kestrel withdrawn of the service
Dassault nEUROn under development
SDTI in service with the 61° Regiment of Artillery
SIDM in the course of reception.
CL289 in service with the 61° Regiment of Artillery
Elsa (light Machine of air monitoring), envisaged for use in France by the Ministry for the Interior
Paparazzi , free project and Open-source (software and hardware) developed by the university of ENAC

Other Types of Drones

Torpedo modified in the underwater drone (UUV: Unmanned Undersea Vehicle ). Terrestrial drone (UGV: Unmanned ground Vehicle ).

Miniature terrestrial drone (SUGV: Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle ).

Drone of detection of nuclear, radiological and chemical products (NRC). In 2007 the originator of a machine of this type, the fireman Luc Brohan, obtained a price of the Concours Lépine for his invention.

Sharc (EADS) - Scouting and Hunting Automatic Rotor Kraft: project of demonstrator of minidrone with contrarotating rotors

SHARC (Sweden) - Swedish Highly Advanced Research Configuration (Description on site of the manufacturer)

References

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