HEMERIA, acting as a subcontractor of the ONERA, designed, manufactured and operated an Eagle Owl type tethered aerostat for the CERBERE experimental study led by the DGA.
CERBERE is an aerial demonstrator measuring the electromagnetic environment. The study was completed in June 2019 during a 2 weeks long flight campaign close to Lorient (France). This flight campaign gathered around HEMERIA the engineers and technicians of the DGA, as well as the teams of Ineo Defense and ONERA.
Using a tethered aerostat as an aerial platform to take onboard SIGINT sensors has several advantages. Indeed, the tethered aerostat enables to place in altitude the electromagnetic sensors which are less constrained by the effects of terrain-masking. Moreover, the tethered aerostat offers a flight permanence from several days to several weeks, while offering a cost per flight hour cheaper than a plane or a drone.
