Bulgaria’s Dronamics and Germany’s HENSOLDT announce unmanned early warning system demonstration in Bulgaria

Bulgarian company Dronamics, founded in Sofia in 2014, which designs and manufactures unmanned aircraft, and German defence sensor and electronics company HENSOLDT, headquartered in Taufkirchen near Munich, announced on 10 November 2026 a flight demonstration in Bulgaria of Dronamics’ full-size Black Swan unmanned aircraft equipped for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and airborne early warning. In the statement published by Dronamics, the companies say the system was presented to potential customers, armed forces representatives and government operators. The technical results are described by the manufacturers; Flank had found no independent confirmation of these results at the time of publication.

Radar, electro-optical sensor and integrated mission management

According to the companies, HENSOLDT’s MissionGrid suite has been integrated into Black Swan and flight-tested. It includes the PrecISR radar, the Argos electro-optical sensor and MissMarvin mission management software. The manufacturers also report a demonstration of MDOcore, which they say provides secure real-time data exchange across different operational domains.

Dronamics and HENSOLDT say the demonstrations included detecting and tracking moving vehicles and stationary ground objects, as well as detecting vessels on the Danube.

In Flank’s assessment, the key element of the proposal is the combination of sensors, mission management and data exchange on a single unmanned platform. Its military value, however, depends not only on detecting a target, but also on accuracy, sustained tracking and the time it takes for information to reach operators.

The demonstration does not mean operational readiness

The companies describe the solution as what they consider the first wholly European unmanned airborne early warning platform combining their technologies.

The tasks described involving ground targets and river vessels do not, in themselves, demonstrate an early warning capability against airborne threats. The statement provides no test results against aircraft, missiles or drones, nor any measured figures for detection range, accuracy or surveillance duration. It therefore offers no basis for a conclusion about the system’s combat effectiveness.

The exact date and location of the flights, and the names of the military and government operators who attended, are not given. The claim to be a European first also remains subject to independent verification. The report by specialist defence and military equipment website Defence Blog is based on the same company statement and does not constitute a separate technical assessment.

Flights in Bulgaria, but no Bulgarian order announced

The Bulgarian connection is the location of the demonstration and the surveillance of vessels on the Danube reported by the companies. The statement identifies no Bulgarian contract or procurement decision, and the presence of military representatives does not, in itself, mean that the Bulgarian Armed Forces are involved as a customer.

The manufacturers link the proposal to the needs of Europe’s eastern flank and Black Sea security. Monitoring maritime traffic is a possible application, but a demonstration over a river does not establish effectiveness over the sea in different weather conditions and in the presence of interference. Assessing such a role will require measurable results from maritime trials and specific requirements from a future operator.