The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has commissioned HENSOLDT to integrate kinetic countermeasures into the ASUL drone defence system, which has been proven in service for many years. This is another pioneering step toward the sustainable combat enhancement of ASUL, following the update of sensor technology at the beginning of 2025, which included the latest generation of the HENSOLDT SPEXER radar.
ASUL is part of a holistic air defence system: the modular counter-small unmanned aircraft system (C-sUAS) with a scalable and scenario-specific sensor-effector mix is designed for the reliable detection, classification, identification, and successful combating of small UAS in real time. To this end, complementary active and passive radar systems, electro-optical sensors, and a diverse range of countermeasures, both from HENSOLDT and proven technology partners, are integrated into a complete system. The C2 software Elysion Mission Core uses powerful, AI-supported algorithms to merge all sensor and effector data, including information from other networked air defence and C-UAS systems, and offers suitable action options as robust decision support for operational forces.
ASUL effectors were previously limited to so-called soft-kill capabilities. This spectrum is now significantly expanded by the ability to deploy kinetic countermeasures. To this end, HENSOLDT is integrating the KONGSBERG weapon station into a 10-foot container and adapting it for use with weapons already in service with the German Armed Forces. A new command container enables close cooperation between the commander, the Elysion operator, and the weapon station operators. In the future, each ASUL system can be equipped with several of these effectors, depending on the threat situation, to effectively secure large areas against UAS, even those protected against soft-kill effectors.
ASUL has proven itself comprehensively in various scenarios since 2022, providing valuable operational experience. Building on this experience and current technological developments, HENSOLDT is continuously expanding the modular ASUL system to realize the capability enhancements required by soldiers at short notice.
