French armed forces to adopt ANAFI USA
Quadcopter micro-UAV will be used for reconnaissance and intelligence missions.
French defence procurement agency DGA has ordered 300 ANAFI USA small UAVs from US manufacturer Parrot.
The DGA chose Parrot as part of a European call for tenders launched in February 2020.
The quadcopter ANAFI USA weighs less than 500g. It will be used for reconnaissance and intelligence missions by all branches of the French armed forces including SF units, the French MoD noted in a 12 January statement.
First deliveries are scheduled for next June. Parrot will provide additional equipment and training.
The contract value was undisclosed, but the five-year framework deal includes the scope for follow-on orders of ‘several hundred drone systems’ each year, the MoD added. These will divided between the French Army (60%), French Navy (28%) and French Air and Space Force (12%), according to targets set by the DGA.
ANAFI USA can be set up in less than 60 seconds. Two 4K 21MP cameras with 32x zoom can detect human targets at up to 2km range with detail accuracy of 13cm, according to Parrot.
Zoom images are merged with those obtained by the FLIR Boson thermal imaging camera; the latter allows the detection of hot spots by day and by night. Deployable in 55 seconds, ANAFI USA has a sound signature of 79dB at a distance of 1m; it is inaudible from 130m.
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