Portugal signals interest in establishing A-29N final assembly line
As the launch customer for the NATO-configured variant, Portugal also took delivery of the first five A-29N aircraft from its order for 12, placed in 2024.
Hensoldt Sensors announced on 28 July that it is supplying the third generation of its Spexer 2000 3D radar to system integrator Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, for inclusion in a C-UAS system based on the Protector RWS.
Protector and Spexer 2000 will be mounted on an armoured GTK Boxer vehicle.
Ten systems will be supplied initially, with deliveries to begin in late 2020.
The C-UAS system will be ready by 2023 for use by German elements in the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF).
Originally developed for border surveillance and security applications against asymmetric threats, Spexer 2000 can detect, track and classify small and slowly moving objects from pedestrians to guided missiles.
The latest-generation system demonstrated ‘outstanding classification performance’ of small UAVs during recent tests, Hensoldt claimed.
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As the launch customer for the NATO-configured variant, Portugal also took delivery of the first five A-29N aircraft from its order for 12, placed in 2024.
As Europe ramps up defence investment in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, the spotlight is turning to how nations sustain their growing fleets.
The first of the 12 M-346 aircraft are expected to be delivered to the Austrian Air Force by 2028, according to the company.
Qatar and Indonesia followed the US’s high spending on new uncrewed aerial vehicle contracts across 2025, while MALE and micro drones and loitering munitions were particularly popular subcategories this year.
With all 31 aircraft set to be delivered by 2030, the helicopters will gradually replace the ageing Sea Lynx fleet which are due to be retired in 2026.
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