Hello! I’d like to start this as a thread to add Country Specific recon drones, I.E. light vehicles that are able to launch drones, each country would get a different drone based on that country.
During this post, you will have to bare with me, as I am no expert, but I will attempt to cite my sources and show what information I can about these devices. Sadly I do not know the main operating drones of every country, though this thread will be a great place for people to share what they know about small, man portable recon drones of other countries also.
So, lets start. Britain.
So here we have a couple of choices for small, single man deployed drones! the Desert Hawk III or the Puma AE
Desert Hawk III:
Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin
Date of use: 2006 - 2018
Primary User: British Army
Weight: 8.2 Pounds
Flight Time: 1.5 hours
Cruise Speed: 25/50 knots
Wingspan: 59 inches
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The lockheed blurb reads as such:
Employed in support of combat operations since 2005, Desert Hawk III (DHIII) has accomplished thousands of sorties under austere conditions. The DHIII system includes hand-launched, ruggedized air vehicles with modular, open-architecture, snap-on Plug and Payloads™ for mission versatility, a portable ground control system and a remote video terminal.
Features:
• Autonomous GPS navigation
• Quiet acoustic signature
• Radio Frequency (RF) signal geolocation module
• Room for payload growth
• High wind tolerant
• Open architecture
• Rucksack portable
Sources:
I must note that, this is the most likely drone to be used for British Forces.
Puma AE/LE:
Manufacturer: AeroVironment
Date of use: 2018 - Current ((for the British army))
Primary User: United States Army, Marine core, Air Force - British Army, Navy - Albanian Air Force
Weight: 15.4 Pounds
Flight Time: 3 Hours with Mantis i45
Cruise Speed: 25 knots
Wingspan: 9.2 ft (2.8 m)
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The AeroVironment blurb reads as such:
Battlefield-proven, the third-generation Puma 3 AE (All Environment) delivers mission critical ISR in all environments. Redesigned to deliver class-leading performance, the lightweight group 1 UAS features a reinforced airframe with an optional under wing transit bay for secondary payloads and third-party applications. Multi-mission capable, operators can swap between Mantis™ i45 and the enhanced night variant Mantis™ i45 N, for day, night, and low light operations in all environments. Launchable by hand, bungee, rail, or vehicle, and recoverable by deep-stall landing, the Puma 3 AE provides class leading capability in challenging environments around the world. Available kits and accessories expand the operational capabilities by providing vertical take-off and landing in constrained area operations and GPS-denied navigation in contested environments.
Features:
• Mantis i45 EO/IR sensor suite beneath the fuselage, which combines multiple all-environment imaging sensors such as 50x Dual 15 megapixel electro-optical (EO/IR) camera, 1.2MP low-light camera and 640x512p thermal infrared (IR) imaging system to provide high-resolution imagery during day and night in extreme environments.
• gimbal payload is also integrated with an 860nm laser illuminator to offer superior illumination. It offers continuous 360° pan and 30° to -90° tilt.
Sources:
https://www.avinc.com/uas/puma-ae
Germany
EMT Aladin
( Abbildende Luftgestützte Aufklärungsdrohne im Nächstbereich )
Manufacturer: EMT Penzberg
Date of use: 2005 - Current
Primary User: Bundeswehr [German Army]
Weight: 3.20 kg
Flight Time: 30-60 min
Speed: 45–90 km/h
Wingspan: 1.46 m
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some blurb on the Aladin:
The Aladin is a man-portable, miniature, unmanned aerial vehicle system designed and manufactured by Germany-based aviation company EMT for the German Army to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations.
Features:
• Two electro-optical cameras
• Infrared camera
Sources:
EMT Aladin - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia
Photos: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) | MilitaryAircraft.de - Aviation Photography
Please also visit: EMT Aladin as they have much more information on this particular drone!
France
Spy Ranger
Manufacturer: Thales
Date of use: 2023 - current
Primary User: France
Weight: 1.2 kg
Flight Time: 150 minutes
Speed: 90 km/h
Wingspan: 3.8 meters
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some blurb on the Sky Ranger:
The Thales Spy’Ranger is a classified as a “mini-UAV” dedicated to the Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR) role over the battlefield. It is designed as a forward-operating solution to provide ground-commanders with the needed “eye-in-the-sky”, delivering real-time information when and where it is needed most through a versatile, robust design operating in both day and night time hours. Beyond this, the air system has obvious uses as an artillery-direction platform and in humanitarian operations.
Features:
• IR&TV system
• gyro-stabilized multi-sensor electro-optical payload
• protected, tactical datalink that transmits the video in real-time to the user
Sources:
America
RQ-11 Raven
Manufacturer: AeroVironment
Date of use: 2003 - Current
Primary User: United States
Weight: 1.9 kg (4.2 lb)
Flight Time: 60–90 minutes
Speed: 45–100 km/h
Wingspan: 4.5 ft (1,37 m)
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some blurb on the RQ-11 Raven:
The Raven system is the most widely deployed unmanned aircraft system in the world, ideal for low-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions that depend on rapid deployment and pinpoint maneuverability. Lightweight and simple to operate, the Raven is rucksack portable and can be hand-launched for day or night observation. The Raven has an optional stabilized gimbaled payload and delivers real-time color and/or infrared imagery to the ground control and remote viewing stations. Due to its advanced avionics, Raven can be operated manually or programmed for autonomous navigation.
Features:
• [CCD] colour video cameras
• infrared night vision camera
• 360-degree gimbal
Sources:
https://www.avinc.com/uas/raven
https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104533/rq-11b-raven/
Russia
ELERON–3
Manufacturer: ENICS
Date of use: 2014 - Current
Primary User: Russia
Weight: 5.5kg
Flight Time: 100 minutes
Speed: 70–130 km/h
Wingspan:
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A bit of blurb on the Eleron 3:
Purpose of the system:
The system is designed for round-the-clock airborne optoelectronic reconnaissance and provides:
-Visual search of reconnaissance objects by the operator in real time;
-Detection and identification of reconnaissance objects;
-Pinpointing the exact location of these objects with coordinates displayed on the ground control panel via GLONASS / GPS;
The system is designed for round-the-clock airborne optoelectronic reconnaissance and provides:
-Monitoring the ground situation, protecting territories and objects from the air
-Border patrols, coast guard patrols, and control of territorial waters
-Search-and-rescue support
-Monitoring the condition of highways and railways
-Monitoring the condition of oil and gas pipelines and power lines
-Environmental monitoring of land and water areas, and air basin
-Mapping and aerial photography
-Fishery exploration and control of fishing
-Aerial reconnaissance and electronic warfare
-Monitoring GSM communication networks, determining the required parameters and coordinates of mobile communication devices with positioning on an electronic map
-Ice situation monitoring
-Monitoring the ground situation during forest fires
-Monitoring settlements cut off by floods
-Monitoring the state of engineering structures during ice drift.
Sources:
https://odin.tradoc.army.mil/WEG/Asset/91494a1e46f43f3e0f5dbf3e9e39cbe9
I’d love to see nations get their own nation specific UAV’s, making them more unique and dynamic within the game. the current “copy and paste” UAV is okay, but variety would be nice in a game that has so much variety in vehicles. Each nation having a different looking UAV would be amazing, and they do not necessarily have to have features specific to them, just looks. what I mean by this is that, having the flight characteristics, the tools available to them, and the features etc being copy and paste from one to the rest would be fine.
This post is simply for visuals alone, no other performance enhancing or deprecating features - so even though many are listed, they are not being requested. they are simply to add a history and explanations of the devices in question - it is completely plausible that MANY of these devices could be upgraded with modern day electronics to give them all the exact same capabilities for balance reasons; and this will be my reasoning to have the differences purely visual.
- Yes
- No
- Purely visual changes only!
- Give each drone it’s real life abilities specific to that drone
- I voted “No”
Now I know there are more choices and nations that I haven’t spoken about but it is purely because I simply do not know enough about them. I’d love to see your ideas, wants, and thoughts on this as well as you posting info on drones you’d love to see nations use! Vehicles such as the Vilkas using its own nation specific drone for example if it has one! Regardless, thank you for reading this and please stay kind in the comments! I look forward to seeing what everyone’s thoughts and ideas are!