Role & capabilities
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Rheinmetall
- Origin / production countries
- Germany
- Other names
- HUSAR; LUNA Next Generation
- Variants / configurations
- LUNA NG; HUSAR German programme; original LUNA is a different baseline
- Operators / programme customers
- Ukraine — 2023 delivery reported; Germany — HUSAR customer
Evidence & current status
Published performance is supplier-reported and configuration dependent; operational use does not independently validate every specification.
LUNA NG is the larger, newer member of Rheinmetall's LUNA reconnaissance family. It combines a fixed-wing aircraft with modular sensor and communications payloads. The manufacturer describes runway-independent launch and recovery, allowing the system to be transported and operated without a conventional airfield.
The LUNA name is used for more than one aircraft. Original LUNA brochures describe a lighter aircraft and shorter endurance; these specifications must not be assigned to LUNA NG. Similarly, display configurations with vertical lift or other growth features do not establish that those features are present on every delivered system.
Rheinmetall's June 2024 programme release states that a system had been delivered to Ukraine in 2023 and records Germany's order for twelve production systems plus a pilot system. Germany uses the HUSAR programme name. The release describes planned delivery dates rather than confirming completion of the entire order. Specifications here therefore distinguish the current product baseline from separately labelled optional links and payload arrangements. Public supplier data remain the basis for performance figures, while delivery announcements support the status classification.
On 1 September 2026 Rheinmetall announced provisional German airworthiness certification enabling independent military training and testing. Full type certification remained in progress; this milestone does not establish unrestricted fleet service.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Fixed-wing tactical UAV; carbon-fibre structure | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Catapult launch; autonomous net or parachute recovery | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Mass | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | More than 12 hours | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Range | More than 100 km data link on current product page | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | 5,000 m maximum | June 2024 programme summary. Source ↗ |
| Payload | 30 kg | June 2024 LUNA NG specification. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Modular EO/IR and other reconnaissance payloads | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Data link; optional SATCOM configurations | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
Provisional German certification
Rheinmetall announced clearance for independent training and testing; full type certification remained in progress.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- LUNA NG and original LUNA product descriptions (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- LUNA NG programme update, 17 June 2024 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- Provisional airworthiness certification, 1 September 2026 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme