Antonov in collaboration with the French company Turgis & Gaillard will produce the Aarok.

7 comments

1. Antonov’s Revenge

2. Strangely, [in this news article](https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/le-drone-aarok-bientot-en-ukraine-turgis-gaillard-signe-un-accord-avec-antonov-978294.html), the drone is referred to as “consumable drone”. Here’s DeepL translation of it:

   >The wonderful story of Turgis & Gaillard’s Aarok drone continues in the most wonderful way. After being one of the surprises at the Paris Air Show in June, this MALE (Medium Altitude Long Range) drone in the category of a Reaper (5.5 tons), developed by this small French ETI with sales of 50 million euros, is likely to take off in Ukraine next year. Based in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Turgis & Gaillard has signed an agreement with Antonov for the local manufacture of an Aarok-type consumable drone, Turgis & Gaillard’s president and founder, Fanny Turgis, told La Tribune. The Ukrainian manufacturer selected the design for this drone, which appeared out of nowhere in June,” added Patrick Gaillard, CEO and founder of Turgis & Gaillard.

   >The agreement was signed by Turgis & Gaillard’s military advisor, Jean-François Ferlet, former head of the Military Intelligence Directorate (DRM), during last weekend’s visit to Kiev by the French Minister of the Armed Forces, during which Sébastien Lecornu brought with him some twenty arms manufacturers specializing in land combat (armored vehicles, artillery), drones, cyber and mine clearance, including Turgis & Gaillard. The trip provided an opportunity to discuss the evolution of French aid to Ukraine in the context of a war that is prolonged and very likely to last. This agreement is in line with France’s desire to anchor its aid to Ukraine over the long term, and to move away from a logic of transferring military equipment to the establishment of industrial partnerships between the two countries.

   >”We know that this war is going to last. As it is going to last (…), we have to make sure that tomorrow we continue to be reliable in our aid to Ukraine”, asserted the Minister last Thursday, shortly after paying his respects in front of the “Wall of Heroes”, a memorial in Kiev dedicated to soldiers killed on the front.

   >A partnership yet to be invented

   >Following the signature of this agreement, everything remains to be done on the industrial and operational front between the two partners, Patrick Gaillard emphasized: where will the assembly site be located, and what French and Ukrainian equipment will be selected for this consumable drone. The only certainty is that the Aarok UAVs manufactured by Antonov will be used exclusively by the Ukrainian armed forces, said Fanny Turgis.

   >In addition to Turgis & Gaillard, several other French manufacturers have signed contracts to supply arms to Ukraine. In all, 15 contracts have been signed, in addition to a cooperation agreement between the French Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) and its Ukrainian counterpart. The UAV manufacturer Delair, which signed an initial contract this summer to supply 150 observation UAVs, has placed an order with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to supply an unspecified number of additional UAVs. Thales has signed an agreement with a Ukrainian company to co-develop UAVs, while Vistory will set up a 3D printing center in Ukraine to produce spare parts.

   >In addition, Nexter, the French branch of the Franco-German KNDS group, is to supply six additional Caesar guns, according to the Ministry of the Armed Forces. The group has also signed a contract with a Ukrainian company to maintain Caesars and AMX-10 armored vehicles and produce certain Caesar parts locally, and another to install armaments on Ukrainian military vehicles. Arquus, for its part, has signed a contract to maintain and locally produce certain parts for the VAB armored vehicle, which France has sold to Kiev in excess of 100 units. Finally, CEFA, an Alsatian SME, will supply eight heavy SDZ mine-clearing robots, as well as eight amphibious vehicles for river crossings.

3. this thing hit targets even in magadan if needed…

4. Am I crazy or does this kinda look like a P51

5. Looks like a good missile truck. Hopefully to carry Ukrainian designed and made long range missiles.

6. I’ve got a feeling that it won’t be long until we see more fighter-like iterations of these kinds of drones. Same guts (engine, avionics) but with a different wing design for more speed at the cost of less time-on-station. They’d excel at killing Shahed-type drones: protecting very large areas with only a couple aircraft at a pretty low cost & free up AA assets or manned fighters for other purposes. And they could be used to patrol for enemy drones nearer the front too -depending on the threat from SAMs & enemy fighters. Arm them with guns and guided rockets (70mm APKWS type) or Stingers.

7. Imagine explaining to the Wright brothers that we would have airplanes without pilots on board.