European firms test cheaper drone alternative to AWACS radar planes

Bulgarian drone maker Dronamics and German sensor company HENSOLDT have flown an airborne early warning and surveillance system on an unmanned aircraft for the first time, the companies said on November 10.

HENSOLDT’s radar and camera suite was installed on Dronamics’ Black Swan drone and demonstrated in flight in Bulgaria in front of representatives of several armed forces and government agencies.

The companies say the system, called Dronamics Detect & Defend, is believed to be the first fully European unmanned airborne early warning platform. Airborne early warning aircraft carry powerful radars high above the ground so they can spot aircraft, drones and missiles flying low, beyond the reach of ground-based radars. In Europe that job is done by large manned planes, such as NATO’s aging E-3 AWACS fleet.

During the demonstration, the drone detected and tracked moving vehicles and stationary targets on the ground, located their positions and picked up ships on the Danube River. The companies did not publish detection ranges or other performance figures.

The payload is HENSOLDT’s MissionGrid sensor suite. It combines the company’s PrecISR radar, an Argos electro-optical camera and MissMarvin mission management software, which fuses radar and camera data so one aircraft can carry out several missions at once. HENSOLDT also flew its MDOcore software, which links the aircraft into a secure network with forces on the ground, at sea and in the air. It was the first time the full suite had been demonstrated on an unmanned platform.

“In February we said we would demonstrate European sensors on a European unmanned aircraft in front of the people tasked with defending Europeans. We have done exactly that,” said Svilen Rangelov, co-founder and president of Dronamics.

The Black Swan was designed as a long-range cargo drone. It is a large fixed-wing aircraft, and Dronamics says its heavy payload capacity lets HENSOLDT’s sensors be fitted in several configurations. The companies describe it as a NATO Class III unmanned aircraft, the category for the largest drones, which weigh more than 600 kg (1,320 pounds).

The companies first announced the partnership at the Munich Security Conference in February. They said the system is free of U.S. export controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which means European buyers would not need U.S. approval to use or export it. They also say it should cost significantly less than manned early warning planes, without giving a price.

Europe has been looking for more airborne surveillance after Russian drones and missiles crossed into the airspace of NATO countries on its eastern flank, and after attacks on shipping in the Black Sea. Bulgaria has seen that threat up close, after a French patrol plane spotted sea drones before a strike on a ship off Bulgaria. NATO itself is replacing its E-3 fleet, and NATO dropped American AWACS for Swedish radar planes, choosing Saab’s GlobalEye.

“Together, we have taken an important step towards realising our shared vision of providing a sovereign, EU-manufactured capability in the NATO Class III UAV category for strategic surveillance, including the detection of low-flying targets,” said Dietmar Thelen, head of the multi-domain solutions division at HENSOLDT.

The companies said they plan to keep working together toward operational deployment, with a focus on Europe’s eastern flank and the Black Sea region. Dronamics is also preparing to go public in the United States, after agreeing on November 3 to merge with GP-Act III Acquisition Corp., a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company.