Other activities


B-Hunter UAV System


SONACA is the leader of the EAGLE temporary association, created in partnership with IAI-MALAT for the HUNTER UAV Systems. EAGLE has designed, developed, qualified to the highest military standards and certified the B-HUNTER UAV system delivered to the Belgian Defence.


Each B-HUNTER UAV system is comprised of Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) equipped with a night/day camera, a Ground Control Station (GCS), a Ground Data Terminal (GDT) and an automatic take-off and landing (ATOL) system.
In the scope of the B-HUNTER UAV programme managed by SONACA, the company particularly took care of the following aspects: composite wing manufacturing, engine integration and testing, control station manufacturing, unmanned air vehicle integration and testing, ground and flight testing of systems and finally, type certification that allows now the B-HUNTER UAVs to fly over densely populated areas, while complying with severe environment conditions.
The system technical assets enable it to perform both close range tactical missions and medium altitude long endurance missions.


Wingspan: 9 m
Range: more than 150 km
Endurance: more than 11 hours - can be extended to more than 24 hours
Altitude: 15,000 feet - can be extended to more than 25,000 feet.
Delivered to the Belgian Defence in 2002, operated by the 80UAVSqn, the B-HUNTER UAV systems have proved their worth during the numerous civil and military deployments, both in a national or international context, therefore contributing to the success of the Belgian or European missions, and making all the other participating countries envious:


- Coastal surveillance and pollution detection in the North Sea
- Assistance in the detection of forest fires in Belgium
- Operational deployment in Corsica, France 2004
- EUFOR mission in Bosnia in 2005
- International support to the presidential election process - the Democratic Republic of Congo - EUFOR 2006


With a total of close to 100,000 flight hours, the HUNTER UAV systems are to this day one of the best UAV systems in the world, able to play a decisive role both in civil or security missions and in international military peace-keeping missions.
With a large growth potential, of a modular design, the HUNTER UAV systems marketed by SONACA in Europe meet today's legitimate need of more security in Europe and worldwide.

 

SONACA into space..

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For more than 25 years, in addition to its preponderant aeronautical activities, SONACA has been putting its skills and industrial means at the service of the space sector, and more particularly of the flight structures (Flight segment).
Asked to cooperate in the HERMES European shuttle, SONACA has continued to develop its activities in the field of re-entry vehicles, and successively participated in the ARD, CRV, X-38 CRV, Pre-X, IXV, and more recently in the EXPERT.
The company has also developed the composite structure of the heat shield of the Beagle 2 that was dropped on the Mars planet by the Mars-Express mission.
As regards the orbital infrastructure (ISS), SONACA also contributed to the COLUMBUS European module by developing and making a section of the Meteorite and Debris Protection System (MDPS) and inside the station, the composite structure of the Fluid Cell Experiment.
However, SONACA is mostly known for its satellite platforms in the space sector: it has fully developed the SPOT5 and COROT case structures, and more recently, that of PLEIADES.
Other activities complement this portfolio, such as the development of structures related to onboard instruments, like the Baffle telescope (COROT, PLEIADES) or high stability and accuracy optical benches (ALADIN-AEOLUS).
Although the turnover of these activities is rather small due to their low recurrence, they are nonetheless much valued due to their technological contribution and the synergy they enable with the aircraft sector in terms of design, calculation and testing means, new materials and implementing processes.