FlyEye

The FlyEye is a Polish mini-class unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Flytronic of Gliwice, a subsidiary of WB Electronics within the WB Group, for close-range reconnaissance and artillery fire correction. Hand-launched and electrically powered, it entered Polish military service in 2010 as the first UAV of domestic design and manufacture adopted by the Polish Armed Forces. It has been used extensively by Ukrainian forces since 2015 and, by 2022, was the most numerous unmanned system in Polish service.

Development

FlyEye was first shown publicly on 14 June 2010 at Eurosatory in Paris. On 10 December 2010 WB Electronics presented a revised airframe with a T-tail replacing the conventional stabiliser arrangement and wings of increased area and chord. The Nil Military Unit issued a tender for two sets in October 2010, won by WB Electronics, with the order for two sets of four air vehicles each placed on 29 October 2010; a further two sets in the Multi-Sensor Reconnaissance and Surveillance System configuration for KTO Rosomak vehicles were contracted on 18 November 2010. An urgent operational requirement contract of 13 February 2013 covered 12 sets, nine going to the Special Forces Command and Support Unit and three to the Air Reconnaissance Squadron of the 1st Land Forces Aviation Brigade and rocket and artillery units, with deliveries completed in 2013–2014. The Border Guard selected FlyEye in a tender resolved on 23 December 2014, with equipment assigned to the Nadbużański Border Guard Unit in Chełm. Contracts of 3 December 2018 and an annex of 18 July 2019 supplied the Territorial Defence Forces with 12 sets. A further 11 sets were ordered on 15 February 2022, by which point 31 sets comprising 124 air vehicles had been delivered; 54 sets had been ordered by the end of 2022. A December 2022 contract covered modernisation of five older sets to the 3.0 standard. The manufacturer reported the thousandth airframe built in mid-March 2024.

Design

FlyEye is a composite high-wing cantilever monoplane with a 3.6 m wingspan and 1.8 m length. Propulsion is by an electric motor with a folding forward propeller, fed by lithium-polymer batteries, giving 60–120 km/h, a ceiling of 3,000 m AMSL and endurance exceeding 2.5 hours. Launch is by hand with no supporting equipment, and readiness can be reached in under ten minutes. The sensor head and payload are mounted beneath the fuselage at the centre of gravity; before landing this section is jettisoned a dozen metres above the ground and descends by parachute while the airframe glides to a designated point. Flight is either manual from the ground control station at up to 50 km or fully autonomous along a pre-programmed route. Control software originally ran on Windows and was later replaced by a Linux-based system.

Operational History

Polish NiL Unit soldiers operated FlyEye in Afghanistan. Ukraine has used the type since March 2015, initially in fighting in the east of the country. During the Russian invasion the manufacturer reported roughly 250 Ukrainian FlyEye sorties per day, chiefly for artillery fire correction; the Russian National Guard published footage of a downed Ukrainian example on 7 June 2022, the first documented loss. Territorial Defence Forces aircraft flew 2,000 hours in 2021, 70 percent at night, with one third of sorties supporting Operation Strong Support on the Belarusian border. Malaysia is an export customer.

Variants

• FlyEye (original): Initial 2010 configuration with conventional tail surfaces, presented at Eurosatory.
• FlyEye (2010 revision): Modernised airframe with T-tail empennage and enlarged wing area and chord.
• Multi-Sensor Reconnaissance and Surveillance System: Configuration ordered in November 2010 for use with KTO Rosomak wheeled combat vehicles.
• FlyEye 3.0: Third-generation version with new cameras, operational range extended to 80 km, and automated interoperability with the ZZKO Topaz artillery battle management system.
• FlyEye 3.0 (WOT standard): Territorial Defence Forces variant with new optoelectronic head, modernised transceiver and control station, new battery power system and revised transport cases and backpacks.