A screenshot from a Hensoldt video showing the HADIS unmanned cargo glider concept, flight trials of which were conducted in late 2025. (Hensoldt)
Hensoldt has demonstrated its High Altitude Drop Infiltrating System (HADIS) unmanned cargo glider, performing flight trials from an Airbus A400M transport aircraft.
The German company announced the trials at the beginning of February, saying that flight-testing of the modular glider that was first conceptualised in 2024 were flown in late 2025.
“Last autumn, sensor specialist and solutions provider Hensoldt successfully performed flight tests for the deployment of the HADIS unmanned carrier system from an A400M aircraft,” the company said. “In the test campaign, which was supported by the German armed forces with the support of an A400M and accompanied by the Bundeswehr Technical Center for Aircraft and Aeronautical Equipment (WTD 61), the Hensoldt team was able to impressively demonstrate the functionality of a scaled 1:3 version of HADIS. Both the deployment process using a parachute extraction method and autonomous waypoint navigation in gliding flight were successfully demonstrated.”
As noted in a company video accompanying the announcement of flight trials, the HADIS has a wingspan of 8 m, a payload of 500 kg, a service ceiling of 35,000 ft, a range of 170 km (or 120 km when dropped from 25,000 ft), which compares with a conventional parachute airdrop range of about 40 km, a speed of 210 km/h to reach 120 km in about 30 minutes, a glide ratio of 16:1, and a cargo volume of 690 litres.
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