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.
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.
With a range of 3 hours, between 80 and 120km, this loitering ammunition will carry a 3kg explosively-formed penetrator charge capable of dealing with armoured targets while foiling their active protection systems. In partnership with EOS Technologie and TRAAK, the first demonstrations with an inert charge will take place in early 2025.
This system which could be reusable will also enable it to carry out intelligence missions using an electro-optical system which is able to detect a vehicle at 15 km by day and 3 km by night. It will have navigation capabilities in a contested environment (jamming) thanks to its secured radio link at up to 80km provided by KNDS France Robotics. LARINAE is proposed with two different platforms: a vertical take-off and landing system (VTOL) and a high-speed UAV (VELOCE). Both are equipped with a high-performance solution for arming and disarming the warhead, allowing the operator to recover them easily and safely.