French arms maker Parrot has unveiled its ANAFI UKR reconnaissance drone at the Paris Air Show, which it said has been adapted to the requirements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
The Paris Air Show takes place between June 16 and June 22, exhibiting products from the civil and defense aviation sectors.
The European Defence Review, in its Thursday report, says the drone offers a flight range of 23 kilometers (14 miles) – or 40 kilometers (25 miles) with a battery upgrade. It also comes equipped with a stabilized thermal imaging camera to help detect troops up to 2.2 kilometers (1.4 miles) away.
Parrot’s official brochure says the drone has a transmission range of 20 kilometers (12 miles) via radio – or theoretically an unlimited range if it utilizes 5G mobile connections, which are unavailable in Ukraine at present.
It weighs 959 grams (2.11 lbs) and has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,450 grams (3.20 lbs).
The base model of the drone costs €15,000 (just over $17,000), and the company said it has entered serial production.
In comparison, the commercially available Mavic 3 drone favored by Ukrainian and Russian troops for reconnaissance missions has a maximum flight range of approximately 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) and transmission range of 15 kilometers (9 miles).
Parrot’s representatives also claimed in their comments to the European Defence Review that the ANAFI UKR drone has been designed with immunity to electronic warfare (EW) jamming and spoofing, commonly seen in Ukraine.
According to the brochure, the new drone relies on frequency hopping for countering EW; additionally, it utilizes optical navigation when access to satellite navigation networks is unavailable.
Questions raised over value for money
A Ukrainian drone operator in the Pokrovsk sector – who wished to remain anonymous due to subject sensitivity – welcomed the idea but questioned the feasibility of the drone’s pricing.
“I like the idea that Europeans are localizing the production… having all the stuff from China is not good for everyone,” the operator told Kyiv Post.
“I would love for European drones to replace Mavics, and I believe it’s good for Europe, good for Ukraine, buying our own… But now, with this technology, with this pricing, I do not believe we can re-arm the whole military with this drone,” he said.
“The pricing is insane.”
According to him, the pricing is on par with operational-level drones such as the domestically-produced Ukrspecsystems Shark – which flies further with much better endurance – while Parrot’s ANAFI UKR is simply a tactical-level drone.
He added that tactical-level drones must also be inexpensive enough to be expendable, given the demands of the battlefield in Ukraine.
As an alternative to the Chinese Mavic drones, the operator said there is a need to replace Mavics, and Parrot’s ANAFI UKR did offer an attractive package as it comes with upgraded communication systems straight from the factory, compared to Mavics that require some upgrades by the soldiers themselves.
Target-tracking ability is also an advantage, he said.
However, he said the pricing does not justify the upgrades compared to existing alternatives.
Asked about existing alternatives for Mavics in Ukraine, the operator named those made by Autel, another Chinese company.
He said Autel drones are favored by Ukrainian operators for nighttime operations thanks to their thermal cameras. Even though they are more expensive than Mavics, they do come with more features.
For the ANAFI UKR to be truly useful, the operator suggested increasing payload capacity and flight time – maybe up to an hour – since these are the key hurdles for existing drones.
But at the end of the day, logistics and infrastructure stand as another hurdle to switching to a new system.
“The problem is, with all that infrastructure we have for Mavics, it will be a little bit challenging to replace it with something. We need to find a model for everyone to fly,” he said.
“But eventually we will come around to it.”