Eurodrone to be equipped with SIGINT capability

Hensoldt will develop a SIGINT pod demonstrator for German Eurodrone MALE UAVs. The collective Eurodrone platform will be developed by Airbus, Leonardo, and Dassault. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Hensoldt has been awarded a contract to develop an intelligence capability for the Eurodrone platform.

The German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) awarded a EUR15 million (USD16.3 million) contract to Hensoldt for the development of a signals intelligence (SIGINT) demonstrator for the Eurodrone medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the company announced on 20 January.

The sensor suite will be integrated into a pod for the Eurodrone platform and will be based on the latest “digitisation, electronic beam-steering, and metallic 3D printing” technologies, some of which have already been developed under Hensoldt's ‘Kalaetron' product family, the company said.

A Hensoldt spokesperson confirmed to Janes that the SIGINT sensor suite is intended specifically for the German Eurodrone aircraft.

According to the company, Hensoldt will also develop a system architecture to allow for the integration of the SIGINT capability into the future mission system of the Eurodrone. The SIGINT payload will be capable of networking with other platforms, the company added.

In February 2022, Germany along with France, Italy, and Spain formally launched the Eurodrone project to develop a MALE UAV. In total, 20 systems will be developed and manufactured, each containing three aircraft and two ground control stations. Germany will receive seven systems, Italy five, while France and Spain will each receive four.

The Kalaetron product family comprises an electronic support measure, SIGINT, and a communications intelligence solution that are suited for aerial and unmanned platforms.