Defence

Flight testing of Canada's Sagem Sperwer unmanned air vehicles at Cold Lake, Alberta has been held up by three electrical failures that are being investigated by the French manufacturer and the Department of National Defence.

Conducted in late April and early May at Canada's Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment (AETE), the latest series of Sperwer tests could not be completed because of the electrical failures, which caused uncommanded deployments of the UAV's drogue chute, says AETE commanding officer Col Bill Werny. Two AETE specialists have been sent to Sagem to work on the problem.

Testing of the Sperwer UAV is expected to resume in August or September, in time to reintroduce the system into service with Canada's army by January 2006, he adds. Canada rushed the Sperwer into service in 2003, skipping the usual test and evaluation procedures to meet an immediate requirement in Afghanistan. The vehicles carried out 107 training and operational sorties in eight months from November 2003, and two of its six UAVs were destroyed in landing incidents. "I have directed that we go back to look at those incidents again [in the light of the recent electrical failures]," says Werny. Sagem declines to comment on the reported incidents.

Apart from the Sperwer, Canada operates an Advanced Ceramics Silver Fox UAV system at Defence Research and Development Canada's Suffield facility in Alberta. The Canadian Forces hopes to introduce medium-altitude, long-endurance UAVs to service by 2010.