| Talarion | |
|---|---|
| Mock up of EADS Talarion at Paris Airshow 2009 | |
| Role | MALE UAV |
| Manufacturer | EADS |
| First flight | 2015 (planned)[1] |
| Introduction | 2018 (planned)[1] |
| Unit cost | €200 million[2] |
The Talarion is a Medium-altitude long-endurance[3] (MALE) unmanned air vehicle, designed by EADS (With technological support from Turkish Aerospace Industries[4]) to meet future European military needs for reconnaissance, intelligence, and surveillance. EADS has run a preliminary design review, and is awaiting orders.[5] The source of the name is the Talaria - the winged sandals of the Greek Messenger God Hermes.
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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.[6]
French parliamentary estimates place Talarion’s total program costs at around EUR 2.9 billion, including around 12-15 systems of 3 UAVs each.[7]
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[8] [9]; Turkey (Turkish Aerospace Industries) with the TAI Anka is the only European government to have developed and successfully tested a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV of its own and accordingly has gained significant experience with the development of larger long endurance UAV platforms. The TAI Anka made its debut at the 2010 Farnborough air show and is scheduled to enter service with the Turkish Air Force in early 2012 [10].
In December 2011, Cassidian and Alenia announced that they would cooperate on MALE UAVs - including Talarion.[1]
In 2010, EADS expressed frustration that the "home" nations - France, Germany, Spain, and the UK - were not committed to buying Talarion. However, other countries' armed forces might also buy it; apart from an expected order from Turkey, Talarion may also be a candidate in a Canadian competition to acquire unmanned surveillance systems,[11]
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