Unveiled by the French SME Turgis & Gaillard at the 2023 edition of the Paris Air Show, the Aarok MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) drone quickly attracted the interest of the French Air & Space Force (AAE) and even the French Army. This was despite the fact that it was not the result of a program launched by the French Armaments Agency (DGA)… but rather the manufacturer's own initiative.
Containing no components of American origin (it is "ITAR Free"), the Aarok "was designed to meet certification standards and facilitate the use of existing and qualified French equipment," Turgis & Gaillard explained at the time.
With an endurance of over 24 hours, this MALE drone carries a payload of 1.5 tons, including four bombs equipped with an AASM (Modular Air-Ground Weapons) kit and two anti-tank missiles. Depending on its configuration, it can perform ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), and fire support missions. All this for a reasonable price, in the order of €5 to €10 million.
Since then, Turgis & Gaillard has been able to count on the support of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, with the Aarok having been awarded a contract in December 2024 by the Ministry of the Armed Forces' Aviation Maintenance Directorate (DMAΓ©), to study the concept of a "certifiable but not certified" drone.
But before making any decision, the AAE announced that it would wait and see if the Aarok would live up to its stated promises... And it shouldn't take long to know.
Indeed, after completing its ground test campaign in June, the Aarok was able to take flight for the first time from Blois-Le Breuil airfield on September 9.
"The MALE Aarok drone prototype successfully completed its first flight. This new milestone demonstrates the progress of the program, which is essential to meeting the needs of the French and allied armies," Turgis & Gaillard stated in a press release issued on September 11.
"The level of maturity demonstrated is the main lesson from this first flight," commented Patrick Gaillard, CEO of Turgis & Gaillard. "As with the high-speed taxiing campaign, everything went as we anticipated." The aircraft displayed sound handling, a clean takeoff, and an impressive climb rate. All parameters are in line with expectations. These successes give us a lot of confidence for the next steps,” he continued.
As a reminder, at the last Paris Air Show, the DGA signed a grant agreement with Turgis & Gaillard and four other manufacturers [Daher, Fly’R, SE Aviation, and Aura-AERO] for “their low-spectrum MALE drone development projects.” And, for the moment, the Aarok is the most advanced aircraft.
In addition, Turgis & Gaillard has entered into a partnership with Thales to equip the Aarok with the “AirMaster S” multi-role X-band active array radar [AESA]. This radar can be used for anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare, maritime surveillance, search and rescue, mapping, and more.
Photo: Turgis & Gaillard
LATEST NEWS
COMMENTS
- A beautiful baby with a good carrying capacity, which I saw at the Paris Air Show 2023 with the beautiful Fanny in front. π€©π But with such a size, it does not seem very suitable for highly contested environments like the Ukrainian theater of operations: faced with a high density of air-to-air and/or ground-to-air defenses, it may not last long; on the other hand, just like the American Reaper, it would be perfect for asymmetric combat like in the Sahel... from where France was unfortunately ejected... For a theater of operations like Ukraine, more discreet drones are needed, whether kamikaze or reusable.
- The joke π€£ A year late for a rustic plane that has nothing to do with a drone... In 10 years it will perhaps be autonomous but not stealthy so useless on the front... π But in marketing for public money, you are strong on the other hand.
- Maybe one day it will be equipped with an electric motor, which will make it silent!
Social Plugin