EADS Talarion

The EADS Talarion is a twinjet Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (MALE UAV), designed by EADS, to meet future European military needs for aerial reconnaissance, military intelligence, and aerial surveillance.[2] EADS has run a preliminary design review, and is awaiting orders.[3] The source of the name is the Talaria—the winged sandals of the Greek Messenger god Hermes.

Talarion
A mock-up of the EADS Talarion at the Paris Airshow in 2009
Role MALE UAV
Manufacturer EADS and TAI
First flight 2015 (planned)[1]
Introduction 2018 (planned)[1]

Design and development

Development of the Talarion was revealed with a mockup displayed at the 2009 Paris Airshow. The vehicle is a twin jet engined UAV with a wingspan of approximately 28 m. Avionics will be built by Saab.[4]

French parliamentary estimates place Talarion's total programme costs at around EUR 2.9 billion, including around 12–15 systems of three UAVs each.[5]

Partnership with Turkish Aerospace Industries

In May 2011, a group of Turkish suppliers, led by Turkish Aerospace Industries, joined the project by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with EADS Cassidian for the Talarion UAV programme.[2][6] Turkey (Turkish Aerospace Industries) with the TAI Anka is the only European government to have developed and successfully tested a MALE UAV of its own and has accordingly gained significant experience with the development of larger long endurance UAV platforms. The TAI Anka made its debut at the 2010 Farnborough Airshow and is scheduled to enter service with the Turkish Air Force in early 2012.[7]

Partnership with Alenia

In December 2011, Cassidian and Alenia announced that they would cooperate on MALE UAVs—including the Talarion.[1]

In February 2012, Cassidian announced plans to wind down the Talarion programme, after failing to secure financial backing from potential future buyers;[8] the European market for UAVs now has stronger competition, and budgets are under pressure.[9]

Customers

In 2010, EADS expressed frustration that the home nations—France, Germany, Spain, and the UK—were not committed to buying the Talarion. However, other countries' armed forces might also buy it; apart from an expected order from Turkey, the Talarion may also be a candidate in a Canadian competition to acquire unmanned surveillance systems,[10] and in January 2013 it was suggested that the South Korean government might consider the Talarion, or the BAE Telemos, as an alternative to the RQ-4 Global Hawk.[11]

The Talarion is likely to compete with the Telemos for various future European deals.[12]

Specifications

Data from Military Factory[13]

General characteristics

  • Crew: none
  • Length: 10 m (32 ft 9.7 in)
  • Wingspan: 28 m (91 ft 10.3 in)
  • Height: 3.45 m (11 ft 3.8 in)
  • Empty weight: 3,200 kg (7,055 lb)
  • Gross weight: 10,000 kg (22,046 lb)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 630 km/h (391 mph, 340 kn)
  • Range: 1,700 km (1,056 mi, 918 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 15,000 m (49,213 ft)

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References
  1. "CASSIDIAN and Alenia Aeronautica agree on UAS cooperation". Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "ILA: EADS still committed to Talarion UAV, says Zoller". Flight Global. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  4. "Saab to build Talarion computers". Flight Global. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  5. "France's Next MALE UAV: Contenders". Defense Industry Daily. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  6. "Turkey signs up as Talarion partner". Flightglobal. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  7. "Turkey signs up as Talarion partner". Flight Global. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  8. "Cassidian calls time on Talarion UAS". Flight Global. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  9. Guhl, Jean-Michel (12 June 2012). "Beaucoup de projets de drones à l'appel". IHS. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  10. "General Atomics, CAE partner for Canada UAV contest". Flight Global. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  11. "US Will Sell Global Hawks—Will South Korea Buy?". Defense Industry Daily. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  12. "BAE Systems-Dassault Aviation Telemos Revives France's UAV Wars". defense-aerospace.com. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  13. http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=1087
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