The French Army’s Anti-Drone Defense Program
The French Army, as part of the Scorpene program aimed at modernizing and strengthening the main lines of combat, has adopted the 6×6 Jaguar armored reconnaissance and combat vehicles, 6×6 Griffon medium multi-role armored vehicles, and 4×4 Serval light multirole armored vehicles.
All these vehicles share systems for command and control (C2), navigation, communication, electronic protection, and common type of armament.
In fact, the French Army has pursued the objective of obtaining maximum operational, training and logistical commonality of the systems used on new production vehicles and on existing ones, such as the Leclerc tank, which have been modernized.
The RcWS T1 by Arquus
At the armament level, the Jaguar, Griffon and Serval share the Remote Control Weapons Station T1 by Arquus. For the Jaguar armored vehicles, the T1 is a secondary weapon to the 40mm telescopic cannon and the MBDA MMP anti-tank missiles; for the base Griffons and Servals, however, it represents the main armament.
The T1 is supplied by Arquus in various setups – Hornet, Hornet Lite, and Hornet S, depending on the requirements and vehicles it is destined for.
The most complete version, the RcWS T1 Hornet, can host heavy 12.7×99 mm caliber machine guns, 7.62×51 mm medium machine guns and 40×53 mm automatic grenade launchers.
The EO/IR equipment includes daytime cameras with continuous zoom, non-cooled thermal camera, and laser rangefinder, which are cleaned with air and water.
The T1 Hornet turret can be integrated with an autonomous smoke grenade system operating at 360°.
The RcWS T1 Hornet, depending on the armament, weighs from 144 kg to 248 kg without weapon and ammunition, with a height ranging from 702 mm to 876 mm; it is stabilized on 2 axes with a detached line of sight on 2 axes, azimuth nx 360° and elevation from -20° to 60°.
The Use of C-UAS for the T1 Hornet
The French Army (AdT), with the help of the General Directorate of Armament (DGA), in collaboration with Arquus, has centered the T1 Hornet for the C-UAS defense program, given the increased urgency to deal with drone threats with proven and cost-effective solutions.
In fact, according to the AdT and the DGA, the T1 Hornet is well suited to anti-drone defense tasks thanks to gyroscopic stabilization and automatic target tracking where artificial intelligence algorithms are applied, developed specifically to anticipate the maneuvers of UAS and loitering munitions.
The three hundred 12.7 mm bullets or the sixty 40 mm grenades immediately available on the T1 Hornet provide a good supply of shots, allowing for a productive use of C-UAS.
Therefore, the French Army wants to expand the dissemination of the T1 Hornet, complementing other solutions fielded with the VAB ARLAD, the Proteus gun/machine gun and the NEROD jammer.
Photo credit @Armée de Terre
