Sofia, Bulgaria and Taufkirchen, Germany. Dronamics and HENSOLDT have demonstrated Europe’s first unmanned airborne early warning (AEW) system combined with intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability.
As part of the campaign, HENSOLDT’s MissionGrid sensor suite was integrated, test-flown and validated on board a full-scale Dronamics Black Swan unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the combined platform was subsequently demonstrated in flight in Bulgaria in front of prospective end users and representatives of various armed forces and government operators, generating significant customer interest.
This is the first time HENSOLDT’s MissionGrid sensor suite with MissMarvin mission management software, PrecISR radar and electro-optical Argos sensor have been demonstrated on an unmanned platform in a fully integrated solution. Furthermore, the outstanding operational performance of HENSOLDT’s software suite MDOcore was successfully demonstrated in flight. Integrated into the Black Swan UAV, MDOcore ensured secure, real-time, cross-domain networking as part of Multi-Domain operations scenarios.
Named Dronamics Detect and Defend, the combined solution was first announced at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year. This fully European AEW system combines the endurance, payload capacity and range of Dronamics’ drone technology with HENSOLDT’s state-of-the-art mission sensor systems, making the Black Swan among the most versatile NATO Class III UAS. ITAR-free, it has capabilities to detect and identify targets across ground, maritime and air domains.
Expected to cost significantly less than legacy manned AEW platforms, the unmanned solution seeks to provide significant operational improvement at a time of escalating security concerns across Europe’s Eastern Flank including the Black Sea. At a time when European NATO members are ramping up their defence spending, the integrated HENSOLDT AEW and ISTAR capabilities of the Dronamics Detect and Defend solution can make it relevant for four of the recently adopted five European Defence Projects of Common Interest (EDPCIs) – Drone and Counter-Drone European Resolve, Integrated Maritime and Seabed Defence, EU Federated Integrated Air and Missile Defence, including Early Warning, and Eastern Flank Watch. Its EU origin can make it relevant for Made in EU procurement under the SAFE Instrument and other EU programmes.
The demonstration covered several mission sets of the joint solution, including air-to-ground detection and tracking of ground targets, including moving vehicles, stationary assets, as well as geolocation, and air-to-maritime detection of vessels on the Danube River.
Announced in Q1. Integrated in Q3. Demonstrated in Q4
When the partnership launched in February 2026, Dronamics and HENSOLDT set out to build a 100% Made in Europe unmanned AEW and ISTAR solution. The aim: give countries the ability to continuously detect and target multi-domain threats from the air and keep European skies under European control. The companies had planned demonstrations for later in the year with that programme milestone now achieved.
The Black Swan is a long-range, fixed-wing unmanned aircraft, designed for multiple missions, with payload-agnostic capacity. Its heavy-lift capability allows HENSOLDT’s ISTAR systems to be integrated in several configurations. MissionGrid fuses data from HENSOLDT’s radar and electro-optical sensors so that a single aircraft can deliver multiple missions. PrecISR is software-defined and built to operate 24/7 in all weather conditions against conventional and asymmetric threats on the ground, at sea and in the air.
Dronamics and HENSOLDT intend to continue their collaboration with a view towards operational deployment. As set out at the launch of the companies’ partnership in February 2026, the focus is on strengthening Europe’s capabilities, addressing urgent security needs along its Eastern Flank and in the Black Sea region.
“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. A NATO Class III strategic unmanned platform carrying out airborne early warning, built in Europe, for a significantly lower cost than traditional manned AEW platforms. That is what sovereign EU capability looks like and it is what follow-through looks like. We are grateful to the HENSOLDT team for a partnership that delivers and we are excited about being able to contribute to the defence of Europe,” said Svilen Rangelov, Co-Founder and President, Dronamics.
“With these successful flight demonstrations, we have underlined our expertise as a leading systems integrator and pioneer of Software-Defined Defence. 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, Member of the HENSOLDT Group Executive Board and Head of Division Multi-Domain Solutions at HENSOLDT.
