Role & capabilities
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Safran Electronics & Defense
- Origin / production countries
- France / Germany
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- French SDT configuration; Maritime surveillance configuration
- Operators / programme customers
- France — initial aircraft delivered; procurement abandoned
Evidence & current status
France's abandoned procurement must be distinguished from Safran's continuing product presentation; no complete current export fleet is established here.
Patroller is Safran's long-endurance tactical reconnaissance aircraft, using an airframe derived from Stemme's motor-glider technology. It supports different sensor combinations for land and maritime surveillance. The current Safran product page lists an electro-optical pod, radar and signals-intelligence options, rather than implying that all installations form one universal payload.
Its French programme history requires particular care. Older official equipment pages describe the planned role with the 61st Artillery Regiment. A July 2026 Senate report records an initial delivery in February 2024 and states that the minister subsequently announced abandonment of the procurement programme. These events should not be replaced by an outdated claim that a full fleet is entering service. Nor does France's decision, by itself, establish that every export or industrial activity has stopped.
The figures below primarily follow Safran's current public table. Earlier announcements quoted greater payload and endurance, while the French military configuration has its own figures. These differences are retained as configuration questions, not resolved by choosing the largest number from each document.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Fixed-wing motor-glider-derived aircraft | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | 18 m span; 8.5 m length | French SDT configuration. Source ↗ |
| Mass | 1.2 tonnes | French military page. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | 15 hours | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Range | 180 km LOS; 1,000 km with SATCOM, supplier figures | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Speed | 100–200 km/h | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | 16,000 ft | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Payload | 210 kg | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Euroflir 410 EO/IR; configurable radar or signals-intelligence equipment | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
French procurement abandonment recorded
Senate report describes the minister's decision to abandon Patroller and redirect tactical-drone acquisition.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- Safran current Patroller data (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- Stemme airframe heritage and maritime configuration (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- French military configuration (opens in a new tab)Government / military
- Senate drone report, 7 July 2026 (opens in a new tab)Parliamentary report