HENSOLDT demos ASTUS UAV to potential clients

Pretoria, 5 December 2022 – HENSOLDT South Africa recently held flight demonstrations of its ASTUS unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the Western Cape for potential customers, showcasing the aircraft’s sensor payload capabilities.

Demonstration flights began on 24 November and continued last week in Saldanha on the Cape west coast. Various flight profiles were flown around Saldanha, out to ranges of more than 100 kilometres and altitudes of up to 16 000 feet (maximum communications range is 200 km). The aircraft demonstrated its utility in roles from traffic monitoring to maritime surveillance, fisheries patrol and counter-poaching.

Numerous local and international potential customers attended the demonstration, including several serious prospective buyers. Attendees were from both civil and military institutions, including non-governmental organisations and city councils. Other flight demonstrations will take place early next year.

Willie Malan, Manager Unmanned Systems at HENSOLDT, emphasised that while the ASTUS is a capable platform, its key attribute is its sensor payload. Artificial intelligence and imaging technology have improved tremendously in recent years, and this is what HENSOLDT is really highlighting with the ASTUS demonstration. Malan said the 8-inch gimbal’s auto tracker was able to detect moving targets – such as sheep walking through a field - and track vehicles moving through bush.

In addition to the customer demonstrations and payload development flights, the ASTUS deployment in Saldanha also assessed the use of a logistical support container for spare-parts supply in the field. Over the last few years of testing, the ASTUS team deployed with a large staff component as part of initial development but for this mission the team was cut down to only the minimum five staff needed.

The ASTUS was first unveiled in September 2018, by Tellumat, and was subsequently acquired by HENSOLDT South Africa along with some of Tellumat’s other business units. Key features of the medium-size, medium-range UAV are a 5.2-metre wingspan, 115 kg maximum take-off weight; eight hours flight-time at 5 000 feet above sea level; and cruising speed of 55-60 knots. The aircraft can carry payloads of up to 10 kg.

The modular and portable ground control station (GCS) can be networked to allow control of the ASTUS by more than one pilot and payload operator geographically separated across the mission area. It consists of an operator control unit (OCU) and ground data terminal (GDT) that offer flight and mission control management of the ASTUS.

HENSOLDT recently launched the new lightweight electro optical ARGOS-8 system, weighing less than 6 kg and offering day and night capabilities for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions. This will be fitted to the ASTUS early next year.  The ASTUS airframe is production ready, and basic gimbals integrated, but HENSOLDT is working on adding more and different sensors to the airframe.