The SAGEM Sperwer (Pronounced ''Spehr-wuhr'', Dutch for Sparrowhawk) is an

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

manufactured by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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 from its operators on the ground.

Operational history

The Sperwer is currently in service with the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

(61^e régiment d'artillerie), the

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...

, United States Air National Guard,

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

(

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

) with the Netherlands in the process of removing them from front line use.

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

operated the Sperwer in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

between 2003 and its last mission on 18 April 2009 when it was replaced with the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i built

IAI Heron The IAI Heron (Machatz-1) is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Malat (UAV) division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is capable of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) operations of up to 52 h ...

. The

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...

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

Aeronautics Defense Systems Ltd Aeronautics Ltd. ( he, אירונאוטיקס בע"מ) (formerly NETS Integrated Avionics Systems) is an Israeli company specializing in the manufacturing of Unmanned Aerial Systems for military uses. Since its establishment in 1997, the company ...

Operators

; :

. Designated CU-161 in service; retired. ; : Danish Army. Programme cancelled. ; :

. In service with three more ordered and an option on another five, all with enhanced sensors. ; :

. In service. ; :

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

. Retired. ; :

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

. Designated UAV01 Ugglan (the Owl) in service; retired. ; :

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

Aircraft on display

Six of the retired Sperwers can be found in Canadian museums: * AirForce Museum Society of Alberta – serial number 026 *

Canada Aviation and Space Museum The Canada Aviation and Space Museum (french: link=no, Musée de l'Aviation et de l'Espace du Canada) (formerly the Canada Aviation Museum and National Aeronautical Collection) is Canada's national aviation history museum. The museum is located ...

– serial number 001 * National Air Force Museum of Canada – serial number 007 * Greenwood Military Aviation Museum − 161026 and spare parts from 028 Two of the retired Sperwers can be found in Dutch museums: *

Nationaal Militair Museum The Nationaal Militair Museum (NMM) is a military museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands. It focuses on the history of the Dutch Armed Forces with emphasis on the Royal Netherlands Army and the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The Stichting Koninklijke De ...

, former Soesterberg Air Base Netherlands - serial number Z061 *Artillery Museum, Netherlands - serial number Z051

References

External links

Sperwer Update
* Defense Industry Daily
Dutch to Rent Israeli UAVs for Afghanistan
* Defense Industry Daily
Canada Contracts for Heron UAVs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagem Sperwer 1990s French military reconnaissance aircraft Unmanned military aircraft of France Sperwer V-tail aircraft

Operational history

Operators

Aircraft on display

See also

References

External links