The provisional airworthiness certificate for the LUNA NG allows a European military drone to be seamlessly integrated into regular, restricted airspace. Unlike comparable systems, LUNA NG meets civil safety standards, overcoming the restriction to purely military areas. Compliance with the aviation sector’s stringent test procedures paves the way for regular flights over densely populated European territory. The system therefore overcomes a regulatory barrier and sets new standards for the operational capabilities of military reconnaissance in Europe.

Mike Schmidt, CEO of the Air Unmanned Space business unit at Rheinmetall, said: “Certification is carried out according to the same standards as for large aircraft, such as an A320. A particular challenge in this case was that critical components, such as the autopilot or safety-critical navigation systems, had to be developed and certified in-house. There are simply no certified systems for tactical unmanned aerial vehicles on the market.”

The LUNA NG’s technical maturity has already been demonstrated in extensive flight trials conducted under civil operating licences. In total, the system completed around 150 flights, totalling approximately 200 flight hours. At the same time, the first ‘pilots and verifiers’ from the Bundeswehr were successfully trained on the LUNA NG. This means that qualified personnel are already available for independent operation for training and testing purposes.

The Bundeswehr is introducing the LUNA NG system under the designation ‘HUSAR’ (Highly Efficient Unmanned System for Medium-Range Reconnaissance). The system is designed for sustained airborne reconnaissance, classification, and real-time detection of objects. With a flight time of over12 hours, LUNA NG boasts long-range capabilities.

Rheinmetall has reached another important milestone in the realisation of the HUSAR system with the provisional type certificate. Work on obtaining full type certification is ongoing.