Germany has ordered defense corporation Rheinmetall to supply Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU) with a Luna NG unmanned aerial reconnaissance system by the end of 2023, reports German tabloid Bild, citing its own sources of information.
The publication calls the Luna NG a “superdrone” that can “see and hear.” Luna NG is an updated version of the Luna X-2000 unmanned aircraft, which has been in service with the Bundeswehr, Germany’s armed forces, since the early 2000s. The light aircraft-type reconnaissance drone can fly continuously for 12 hours over a distance of more than 100 kilometers (62 miles). Its maximum cruising altitude is 5,000 meters (16,404 feet). It is launched from a catapult.
The system that Germany plans to give to Ukraine will include a ground control station, several drones, and a launch catapult.
Rheinmetall is planning to release a version of the reconnaissance that is also capable of carrying weapons, however it will not be possible to deliver this type of drone to Ukraine by year’s end.