CL-89
Notes: The Canadians, and especially the company of Canadair, have proved enthusiastic about UAVs, designing the first one in 1961, the CL-89. However, orders and production did not start until the early 1970s, at first from the US Army, and then from Canada and Germany. The CL-89 was designed for completely autonomous operation, following a preprogrammed course, without human intervention (indeed, the capacity for manual control was not even built into the vehicle). It is launched from a rail on a truck using a RATO booster, and then recovered by parachute, with airbags deploying to soften the landing. They are very fast for UAVs, using a small turbojet engine. The CL-89 has a modular design with components easily replaced by other sensors and equipment packages; a typical package is shown below.
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Ground Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
$7,700 |
AvG |
18.14 kg |
108 kg |
2 |
4 |
Passive IR |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Mnvr/Acc Agl/Turn |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Ceiling |
540 |
960 (320) |
NA 460 4/2 40/20 |
61 |
92 |
1000 |
Guidance/Control |
Sensors/Equipment |
Takeoff/Landing |
Autonomous Function, Homing Beacon |
Day Still Camera, Night Still Camera, 6xIllumination Flares |
Takeoff: Rail w/RATO; Landing: Parachute |
CL-289
This was the follow-on to the CL-89, and very quickly replaced that vehicle, with orders from the US Army, Canada, Germany, and France. It is similar to the CL-89, but is larger, and the winglets have a leading edge sweep. There is an alternate sensor package that is quite often used with this vehicle, consisting of a receiver for pilots' survival radios and a relay for them, along with a camera pack. As this version was not taken into service until 1990, it is much more common than the older CL-89.
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Ground Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
$15,700 |
AvG |
34.02 kg |
220 kg |
2 |
4 |
Passive IR, Image Intensification |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Mnvr/Acc Agl/Turn |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Ceiling |
525 |
935 (300) |
NA 450 4/2 40/20 |
92 |
138 |
1000 |
Guidance/Control |
Sensors/Equipment |
Takeoff/Landing |
Autonomous Function, Homing Beacon |
Video Camera, Still Camera, 6xIllumination Flares, Secure Radios, Real-Time Video Link |
Takeoff: Rail w/RATO; Landing: Parachute |
CL-327 Guardian
Notes: This is a Canadian drone used by many NATO countries. It is an unusual-looking craft with two mushroom-shaped lobes above and below the rotor blades. It is commonly known as the "Peanut" due to its shape. It is popular with navies due to its small size and footprint, as well as its exceptional handling in high winds and bad weather, and it can also be used from very rough fields and tight forest clearings, or takeoff and land from vehicles as small as a HMMWV. Another user of this vehicle was the US Border Patrol, who purchased 25 of them. The US DEA also purchased a number of them.
Twilight 2000 Notes: During the Twilight War, the Border Patrol Guardians were typically used to monitor Mexican troop movements.
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Ground Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
$25,000 |
AvGas |
52 kg |
349.27 kg |
2 |
3 |
FLIR, Radar |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Mnvr/Acc Agl/Turn |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Ceiling |
260 |
340 |
20/165 |
198 |
32 |
5485 |
Guidance/Control |
Sensors/Equipment |
Takeoff/Landing |
GPS, Inertial Navigation, Autopilot, Target Tracking (Lock-on), Manual Control (Radio Link, 220 km) |
Synthetic Aperture Radar, ECM, Video/Still Camera, Real-Time Video Link, Secure Radios, Armored Body |
4m Primitive Runway |