Defence

QinetiQ delivers uncrewed ATS to German Armed Forces

Posted 15 November 2024

QinetiQ Germany has demonstrated the first successful flight of a Rheinmetall Delta B15 target drone in Todendorf as part of the German Uncrewed Aerial Training Services (ATS).

Above: Rheinmetall Delta B15 target drone in flight.
Image courtesy QinetiQ

This flight is the first step in QinetiQ's partnership with Rheinmetall in Germany in the Ground-based Air Defence (GBAD) segment.

The Delta B15 has been chosen to meet the new GBAD requirements and is continuously being updated to address emerging threats, including the widespread use of SHAHED one-way drones. The Delta B15 target drone will fulfill the requirements of NATO and the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) partner nations, providing essential training for systems currently deployed in Germany.

QinetiQ will use the Rheinmetall Delta B15 drone in Germany starting in 2025, with a future roadmap for operations at sea with the German Navy.

Matthias Grögor, Head of Strategic Business Development (Germany), said: "In cooperation with Rheinmetall, QinetiQ Germany can expand its market position in the relevant procurement programs of our customers in Germany. This means that we are actively preparing today for the arrival of newly procured weapon systems, always with an eye on current threats and an outlook to 2035.

"The cooperation is part of our holistic Global Threat Representation Life Cycle approach, which we at QinetiQ implement worldwide as a service provider in exercises from operational analysis to implementation."

Mark Robert Henning, CEO of Rheinmetall Technical Publications GmbH, Business Unit Rheinmetall Product and Airborne Solutions, said: “We are thankful to have been chosen by QinetiQ to supply the new target drones playing an active role in the European Sky Shield Initiative. We look forward to intensifying our collaboration in this field, based on our extensive experience in target solutions for ground-based air Defense training on the one hand and unmanned systems on the other.

"The sophistication and diversity of airborne threats are ever-evolving. We at Rheinmetall are continuously anticipating these advances and are developing solutions to cope with these.”