The Bateleur will be designed as a completely autonomous UAV meaning that, utilizing GPS-based navigation, the UAV will be able to manage preset in-flight waypoints on its own. The autopilot system will be such that the Bateleur will also be able to take-off and land without human interaction. Its wheeled undercarriage will require use of a prepared runaway unlike other smaller-class catapult/hand-launched, net-recoverable UAVs now in use. This limits the Bateleur in a tactical sense but its size precludes it from being launched/retrieved by any other means.
A full scale mock up of the Bateleur was unveiled at Africa Aerospace and Defense 2004 (AAD2004) at Air Force Base Waterkloof, marking the official "arrival" of the Bateleur UAV program in the process. For a mock up, the system actually looked as though a completed prototype. First flight was expected sometime in 2006 but, as of this writing, the event has yet to take place, meaning large delays in its development are most likely the cause. The South African Air Force does intend on acquiring a medium-class UAV of some sort in the near future but the procurement cost of a single Bateleur might force its hand at acquiring a less-expensive, foreign alternative to the indigenous in-house design.
While still in development, Denel confirms a few performance specifications of their Bateleur UAV and these include a mission endurance time of up to 24 hours with an operational range of approximately 500 kilometers. Its maximum service ceiling is expected to range within 25,000 feet with a cruising speed of 250 kilometers per hour.
Incidentally, the name of "Bateleur" is in reference to the eagle species common to central and southern Africa.
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