The SAGEM Sperwer (Pronounced Spehr-wuhr, Dutch for Sparrowhawk) is an unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by the French firm SAGEM. The aircraft is piloted remotely and can cruise at altitudes of over 16,000 feet for as long as five hours. It can send back images of targets up to 150 kilometers away from its ground control station.
| Sperwer | |
|---|---|
 Sperwer B on its launch rail | |
| General information | |
| Type | Reconnaissance aircraft/UAV |
| Manufacturer | SAGEM |
| Primary users | French Army Canadian Armed Forces (Retired) |
Operational history
editThe Sperwer is currently in service with the French Army (61e régiment d'artillerie), the Royal Netherlands Air Force, Swedish Air Force, United States Air National Guard, Hellenic Army (Greece) with the Netherlands in the process of removing them from front line use.
Canadian Armed Forces operated the Sperwer in Afghanistan between 2003 and its last mission on 18 April 2009 when it was replaced with the Israeli built IAI Heron.[1]
The Royal Danish Army also bought Sperwer, but a series of problems forced the Ministry of Defence to cancel the programme and sell the remainder to Canada. As well the Danish Army no longer operate any aircraft and there are no plans for UAVs by the Royal Danish Air Force. Canada itself removed the Sperwers from front-line use in 2009, while the Netherlands was planning to phase its Sperwer drones out of front line use in March 2009 in favor of rented UAVs from Israel's Aeronautics Defense Systems Ltd.
Operators
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Canada- Canadian Armed Forces. Designated CU-161 in service; retired.
Denmark- Danish Army. Programme cancelled.
France- French Army. In service with three more ordered and an option on another five, all with enhanced sensors.[2]
Greece- Hellenic Army. In service.
Netherlands- Royal Netherlands Air Force. Retired.
Sweden- Swedish Army. Designated UAV01 Ugglan (the Owl) in service; retired.
United States- Air National Guard.[citation needed]
Aircraft on display
editSix of the retired Sperwers can be found in Canadian museums:[3]
- AirForce Museum Society of Alberta – serial number 026[4]
- Canada Aviation and Space Museum – serial number 001[5]
- National Air Force Museum of Canada – serial number 007[6]
- Greenwood Military Aviation Museum − 161026 and spare parts from 028[7]
Two of the retired Sperwers can be found in Dutch museums:
- Nationaal Militair Museum, former Soesterberg Air Base Netherlands - serial number Z061[8]
- Artillery Museum, Netherlands - serial number Z051 [9]
See also
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Related lists
References
edit- ^ COPA Flight 8 (June 2009). "Canadian Forces Briefing on UAVs". Retrieved 30 June 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ French Army to procure more Sperwer drones from Sagem
- ^ "Canada Aviation and Space Museum". Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ "AirForce Museum Society of Alberta". Facebook. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ "Transcript and Help | Canadian Army | National Defence and the Canadian Forces". 10 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ Pitre, Jean-Guy (September 2010). "Sperwer Photo". Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- ^ "Sperwer". Greenwood Military Aviation Museum. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ "Onbemand verkenningsvliegtuig Short Range Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SRTUAV) SAGEM Sperwer V60303 AV-061 registratie Z061 bijnaam 'Anjing Nica'". Nationaal Militair Museum (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 September 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Nieuwe aanwinst voor het artilleriemuseum". Botter courant (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 October 2018.
External links
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- Sperwer Update
- UAV payload applications
- Defense Industry Daily - Dutch to Rent Israeli UAVs for Afghanistan
- Defense Industry Daily - Canada Contracts for Heron UAVs