Loitering munitions, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or unmanned aircraft), are an important and growing asset in the arsenal of the modern armed forces, offering a range of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) options and air attack capabilities previously unimaginable of.
Loitering munitions were originally developed to suppress enemy air defenses (SEAD), although as technology has evolved, the capabilities of drones have been widely expanded, allowing drones to evolve into efficient air delivery mechanisms for a range of payloads.
Smart drones are able to search and identify targets remotely, and loiter around a designated area for a period of time before being directed to attack and deliver their payload. Rather than destroying drones after making contact with a target, some loitering munitions are reusable, greatly reducing the cost per attack and making drones more practical for a wider range of threats.
The range, speed, and altitude of loitering munitions, along with their flight endurance and payload, are all factors that make them increasingly effective in modern combat operations, reducing the need to deploy personnel or expensive military platforms on the frontline. The latest generation of loitering munitions also has a feature that allows its mission to be aborted after an ISR, eliminating the risk of collateral damage and false strikes.
EDGE Group is one of the top 25 military contractors in the world and currently has two entities offering a wide range of UAVs suitable for attack and ISR missions. EDGE Group entity ADASI is a leader in the development of highly agile and powerful drones, including the QX series of loitering munitions. The QX-1, QX-2 and QX-3 are vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) loitering munitions equipped with precision guidance systems that utilize sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to target and strike. They have an accuracy of 1m CEP (circular error possible) – their targets are similar to laser-guided munitions. The QX-4 is a fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing drone that can carry two precision-guided munitions. The QX Series can be launched in any environment or terrain, providing military and special forces with a powerful air strike capability.
Another ADASI product, Rash 2, is a fixed-wing guidance kit for mortars and other internally designed payloads capable of gliding and guiding munitions to ground targets. It is available in different sizes to suit different payload capacities, ranges and durability.
HALCON’s Shadow 50 drone is a fixed-wing drone that can carry a payload of up to 50kg – exactly twice as much as its Shadow 25 counterpart, a high-speed turbojet-powered system with short response times that can Provides high-precision strikes against fixed targets and advanced guidance capabilities. The Shadow series features a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) that can fly with a video navigation system in GPS-denied environments.
HALCON’s RW-24 UAV is equipped with a thermal auto-seeker for improved engagement accuracy on moving targets and enhanced capabilities in GPS-denied environments.
The loitering ammo on the battlefield has gone beyond the role of SEAD. Since the 2000s, these drones have been developed for long-range strikes and air support for very short-range battlefield munitions, such as HALCON’s Hunter hand-launched drone, which weighs 2kg and has a payload of 400g.
Next-generation loitering munitions focus on advanced artificial intelligence and swarming capabilities. HALCON has launched the Hunter 2-S, an electric drone launched from an onboard system that can carry a 2kg payload.
UAE-based company EDGE Group is positioning its entity to develop and manufacture quality loitering ammunition not only for today’s Defence Forces, but for tomorrow’s Defence Forces as well.
