At the beginning of July, the Heron 1 UAS logged its 15,000th operational flight hour. The three systems, which are operated by Cassidian subsidiary Airborne Solutions on behalf of the Luftwaffe, are stationed in Mazar-e-Sharif in north Afghanistan where they are serviced by an experienced team of engineers, pilots and UAS specialists.

The Heron 1 unmanned reconnaissance system’s sensors deliver useful information round the clock for preparing and carrying out military operations. The integrated satellite datalink thereby enables the Bundeswehr and its Nato partners to monitor the entire northern half of Afghanistan, whose surface area of more than 300,000m2 almost equals the size of the Federal Republic of Germany. Heron thus makes a meanwhile invaluable contribution to protecting soldiers and the civilian population in the theatre of operations.

The unmanned reconnaissance system’s availability for monitoring ongoing operations from the air via real-time video has in the meantime become an essential criterion for carrying out operations. The Heron 1’s acceptance and unrestricted operational readiness is ensured by an onsite maintenance team from Cassidian, which guarantees the three aircraft and two ground segments’ readiness 24/7.