Cameroon military drones:
The Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) of Cameroon stood up its drone component in 2014, acquiring several Aeronautics Orbiter 2 UAVs, as well as some commercial Dji Phantom quadcopter drones, Mavic Pro drones, Dji Inspire 2s, and a couple of Dji Matrice 600 Pros.
These drones entered service in 2015 under the BIR Air Observation Group (GOA) located at the Maroua-Salak base. To further enhance this capacity, in 2015, Cameroon’s BIR took delivery of six Boeing Insitu ScanEagle tactical UAVs, its control station, a relay station as well as a simulator.
The Cameroonian ScanEagle drones were fitted with Electro-optical (EO) and Infrared (IR), capable of operating both day and night, with an endurance of more than 24 hours. In 2015/16, the Orbiter 2 drones were used by the Cameroonian Army to provide targeting coordinates to the 155mm howitzers which struck Boko Haram’s positions.
With the excellent performance of the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle tactical UAV, Cameroon opted for the Orbiter 3 system, which was delivered in March 2018, with Cameroon’s operators receiving training in Israel the previous year. Orbiter 3 drone system offers a significant improvement, featuring a 120 kilometers range, and a heavier payload of 5.5 kilograms.
The Orbiter and Scan Eagle drones are operated by the Air Observation Group and Rapid Intervention Bureau from the Maroua airbase.
In November 2021, Cameroon took delivery of the first batch of Slovenian C-Astral Bramor C4EYE surveillance drones to improve on its ISR capacity.
List of Cameroonian military drones
- Aeronautics Orbiter 2
- Orbiter 3 system
- Commercial Dji Phantom quadcopter drones
- Mavic Pro drones
- Dji Inspire 2s
- Dji Matrice 600 Pros
- Boeing Insitu ScanEagle tactical UAV
- C-Astral Bramor C4EYE surveillance drone
