Germany Accelerates Sensor-to-Shooter Links With LUNA NG Drone in Bundeswehr Trials.

Germany’s Bundeswehr has completed a 2026 field trial of Rheinmetall’s LUNA NG unmanned aerial system, testing its ability to feed real-time targeting data into an all-unmanned command-and-control network. The demonstration highlights how Berlin is reshaping its drone force to shorten sensor-to-shooter timelines, a lesson driven directly by combat in Ukraine and relevant to NATO operations.

On 29 January 2026, Rheinmetall put its LUNA NG unmanned aerial vehicle system through a Bundeswehr trial designed to mimic the unforgiving logic of modern drone warfare: no crewed aircraft in the loop, no comfortable handoffs, just a fast chain from detection to target marking to counter-attack driven by connected unmanned assets. Conducted at the Army Combat Training Centre in Saxony-Anhalt, the demonstration was less about proving the drone can fly and more about proving the concept Germany now needs to master: a reconnaissance-and-effects network where swarming drones and loitering munitions share a common command layer and compress the time between spotting a threat and neutralising it.
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Rheinmetall's LUNA NG is a catapult-launched tactical ISR drone offering 12+ hours endurance, EO/IR sensing, modular relay/EW payloads, and autonomous recovery, feeding real-time targeting data into the Bundeswehr's unmanned C2 network (Picture source: Rheinmetall).

Rheinmetall’s core claim is that LUNA NG was successfully integrated into the Bundeswehr’s Command & Control Unmanned Management System (C2-UMS Bw), allowing it to operate inside a mixed network with other drones and loitering munitions while feeding status information across a large operational area and delivering high-resolution target data in near real time. In the trial sequence described, the system handled short-notice taskings reliably, providing ground forces with a continuous sensor picture and accelerating the find-fix-finish loop by reducing the time needed to detect, mark, and counter-attack targets.

LUNA NG sits in a spot that the German Army has lacked at scale: a medium-range, high-endurance tactical ISR asset that is deployable with brigade-level tempo. Rheinmetall describes endurance beyond 12 hours and a ceiling above 5,000 metres, and in its technical material lists a 5.34 m wingspan, 110 kg take-off weight, and a heavy-fuel Wankel rotary engine with injection, liquid cooling, and starter-generator. Typical reconnaissance speed is given as 90 km/h with a maximum of 130 km/h, supporting both persistent orbit and time-sensitive repositioning.

Equally important for how Germany intends to fight is the system architecture. LUNA NG is designed for austere operations: catapult launch without a runway and autonomous recovery using differential GPS into a net or by parachute, with Rheinmetall also stressing low acoustic, thermal, and radar signatures that matter in a drone-saturated battlefield where even unarmed ISR platforms are hunted aggressively. Payload modularity is where the tactical options expand. Rheinmetall references electro-optical and infrared sensors as baseline, but also communications relay including LTE, tactical SatCom options, spectrum analysis, electronic support measures, and AI-supported data evaluation. In practical terms, this is a platform that can be tuned for surveillance, targeting, RF mapping, or acting as a network extender for dispersed ground units.

LUNA NG is the hardware behind the Bundeswehr’s HUSAR project, the Highly Efficient Unmanned System for Medium-Range Reconnaissance. Rheinmetall states that an amendment contract was signed on 28 September 2023 with the Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support after the insolvency of the original manufacturer, building on a takeover contract already concluded in 2022. The order covers twelve production systems plus one pilot system, valued at around EUR 200 million excluding VAT, with the first production system due in the second quarter of 2025 and the package including spares and training support. Each HUSAR system comprises five UAVs, two ground control elements, launcher vehicles, antenna masts, repair capability, and transport platforms, underscoring that the unit of issue is an operational detachment, not a single aircraft.

Parallel reporting indicates the broader programme envelope is larger than the amendment figure, with a total value approaching €300 million once earlier development, recovery costs, and long-term support are included. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2025, reflecting the programme’s longer development arc and the need to re-baseline schedules after industrial disruption. At the same time, the Bundeswehr is framing its unmanned roadmap around sovereign command-and-control, positioning C2-UMS Bw as the central node that avoids vendor lock-in and enables rapid integration of future unmanned sensors and effectors.

Germany’s operational need for LUNA NG is shaped by the Ukraine war’s harsh lessons. Artillery and precision effects are only as lethal as the sensor network feeding them, and the side that compresses the kill chain gains decisive advantage. Rheinmetall itself points to Ukraine as evidence for the operational value of real-time reconnaissance at operational depth, and the 2026 trial’s focus on unmanned-only detection-to-strike reflects Berlin’s determination to rebuild credible deterrence on NATO’s eastern flank. The timing is also significant as Germany moves, cautiously but visibly, toward fielding loitering munitions, a class of weapons whose effectiveness depends heavily on persistent, networked target acquisition.

In capability terms, LUNA NG modernises and consolidates what Germany previously fielded in fragments. It replaces legacy LUNA variants that have served for more than two decades and is intended to supersede the ageing KZO target-location system, giving reconnaissance and artillery units a longer-legged ISR tool able to remain on station throughout a fire mission and conduct battle damage assessment without re-tasking crewed aircraft. Compared with allies, LUNA NG does not compete with larger MALE systems such as the MQ-1C Gray Eagle or Germany’s own Heron TP fleet. Its value lies instead in providing organic, rapidly deployable persistence close to the supported ground commander. Against Russia’s model of pairing ubiquitous reconnaissance drones with loitering munitions, LUNA NG’s advantage is not organic armament but its ability to feed a coalition-grade sensor-to-shooter network at scale, with clear growth potential as Germany expands its unmanned effects portfolio.

Written by Evan Lerouvillois, Defense Analyst.

Evan studied International Relations, and quickly specialized in defense and security. He is particularly interested in the influence of the defense sector on global geopolitics, and analyzes how technological innovations in defense, arms export contracts, and military strategies influence the international geopolitical scene.