The German defense industry is actively developing the concept of deploying unmanned aerial vehicles from naval drones. Two German companies, drone manufacturer CiS and maritime defense solutions provider FLANQ, recently announced a strategic partnership aimed at integrating UAVs with unmanned surface vessels.
This decision follows earlier trials in which CiS's Orka UAV successfully took off from a FLANQ naval drone. The goal of the project is to create a modular system with scalable capabilities, providing significantly enhanced reconnaissance potential.
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CiS CEO Tom Kaufmann emphasized that Europe currently faces a variety of threats along its maritime borders, including covert sabotage of the fleet. He added, "Through cooperation with FLANQ, we will create a flexible intelligent system that improves situational awareness and assists decision-makers in maritime security."
It remains unclear whether the system will be used solely for reconnaissance or adapted for other missions, including strike operations. Nevertheless, it is notable that Western countries have recently been actively investing in naval drones and related technologies.
For example, Australia recently announced plans to acquire the secretive Ghost Shark naval drones, spending over $1 billion on the program. Many of these initiatives draw lessons from the war in Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces were among the first to actively deploy naval drones, including variations adapted to launch FPV drones or equipped with other weaponry.
Regarding the German initiative, CiS positions the Orka UAV as a new generation of tactical drones capable of operating even under extreme weather conditions. The drone has a flight time of up to 75 minutes and a payload capacity of 5 kilograms. Being modular, its configuration can be tailored to customer requirements.
The Orka UAV is compatible with situational awareness systems such as MESE and CATL and can optionally operate via fiber-optic connection at altitudes up to 120 meters.
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