OSKAR loitering munition. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)
Delair and KNDS France will provide 100 OSKAR (Opportunity Strike Kinetics Aircraft Ruggedised) loitering munitions to Ukraine in the third quarter of 2024, the companies announced at the Eurosatory 2024 defence exhibition held in Paris from 17 to 21 June.
The OSKAR is based on Delair's UX11 flying-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), equipped with a 2.3 kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead developed by KNDS France (previously Nexter Arrowtech). Developed underthe codename ‘Dard' (Stinger), the OSKAR was one of two solutions selected for the French DGA (Direction Générale de l'Armement) project Colibri in March 2023. Project Colibri aimed at rapidly developing a cost-effective loitering munition, with a maximum range of 8 km and fitted with an anti-personnel warhead.
In March 2024 French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu announced that the DGA would purchase 2,000 loitering munitions from various manufacturers, with 100 to be sent to Ukraine. Stéphane Douce, chief marketing officer for Delair, told Janes that the OSKAR had already been field tested in Ukraine, confirming its ability to operate in global navigation satellite services (GNSS)-denied environments.
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