European firms test cheaper drone alternative to AWACS radar planes

Dronamics and HENSOLDT demonstrated an unmanned airborne-surveillance configuration in Bulgaria using the Black Swan aircraft fitted with HENSOLDT's MissionGrid sensor suite. The payload combines PrecISR radar, an Argos electro-optical camera and MissMarvin mission-management software, with MDOcore networking to share observations across forces. During the flight demonstration, the system reportedly detected moving vehicles, fixed ground targets and vessels on the Danube River, while the partners presented it as a potentially lower-cost European complement to crewed airborne early-warning aircraft. No radar detection ranges or operational performance guarantees were released, and the platform has not been fielded as an AWACS replacement.