Intelligence gathering through electronic intelligence is more and more important on the battlefield. In the past cumbersome land assets and medium-size air platforms were required to extract information from the electromagnetic spectrum. Miniaturisation allows now to install effective systems on light air platforms such as UAV, as is the case for the last product unveiled by Thales at SOFINS 2025, the EagleTracker
Seen at the exhibition installed under a Class 1 quadcopter, the EagleTracker is compact, less than 2 litres volume, light, around 4 kg, and needs limited power, less than 40 W. The new system is capable to detect, identify and localise telecommunications signals emitted by combat radios, drones, or satellite telephone handsets. “During an exercise with the French Special Operations Command we flew the UAV at 40 km, and it was able to intercept the emission coming from a soldier radio at 40 km distance, which means 40 km from the launch site,” a Thales source told EDR On-Line. Being a soldier radio without crypto module it was possible to listen the voice exchange in clear in real time; should the signal be sent by a secure radio, it would be recorded and send up the intelligence chain to be decrypted.
Besides being installed on free flight Class I and Class II UAVs, the EagleTracker can also be fitted to high-altitude platform stations, such as tethered drones, a typical application being flying it permanently at 100 metres altitude to monitor possible enemy activities in the vicinity. It can be also installed on a vehicle, usually mounted on top of a telescopic mast or on a tethered drone, ensuring convoy protection. Thales proposes its EagleTracker also for naval applications, installed on unmanned surface vehicles.
Two different localisation modes are available; the first foresees to overfly the potential target, while the second sees the UAV carrying the EagleTracker operating at distance, moving in different locations, and using direction finding techniques to establish the exact location of the signal emitter.
In its full configuration the new Thales system complements the electromagnetic spectrum control operations implemented by specialized Electronic Warfare (EW) units through technical signal analysis, assisted decoding, and metadata access, enhancing their intelligence gathering capabilities. The Standard 1 version, which will be available in late 2025, will operate only in the UHF band, Thales planning to start delivering the Standard 2 version, which will extend its capabilities to VHF and SHF bands, in 2026.
While the full capabilities version is dedicated to specialised EW units, Thales also offers a version for non-specialized units; here operators will not have access to intelligence contents, the system providing assistance in establishing a tactical situation, alerting of nearby threats, thus improving decision-making.
At SOFINS Thales was also exhibiting its Eclipse jammer. Issued from the Barrage programme and designed initially to counter the threat posed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Afghanistan, over 100 such systems are in service in the French Army. Considering new scenarios Thales has expanded the Eclipse mission, adding a second frequency band, to allow it to counter not only IEDs but also unmanned air systems, the system becoming therefore a C-IED/C-UAS effector. It can be programmes in order to operate either in active or reactive mode and can be equipped either with an omnidirectional or with a directional antenna. According to information provided by Thales representatives at SOFINS the Eclipse is effective against incoming drones at over 1 km distance. Existing systems can be upgraded with the addition of an add-on electronic module and software upgrade.
Photos by Thales and P. Valpolini