Avilus Completes 800 km Remote-Control Flight Milestone with Dual-Use Bussard UAS

Avilus Completes 800 km Remote-Control Flight Milestone with Dual-Use Bussard UAS

German drone company Avilus has reached a significant milestone, successfully operating its Bussard aircraft remotely over airspace near the North Sea from a ground control station (GCS) in Ismaning, near Munich — a straight-line distance of approximately 800 km.

Dual-Use Design Focused on European Defence Autonomy

The long-range, mission-relevant remote-control demonstration highlights Avilus's goal of providing Europe with sovereign defence capabilities through a powerful dual-use system developed and manufactured entirely in Germany. The Bussard is designed for both civil and military applications, offering a range of 2,500 km and a payload capacity of 150 kg.

Primary use cases include reconnaissance, close air support, strike effects, and the surveillance and protection of critical land and maritime infrastructure. The platform is capable of delivering reliable situational awareness and robust decision support within short response windows.

A Cost-Effective, Mature Platform

The Bussard system has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 800 kg and a wingspan of 8 metres. It is based on a proven German industrially produced motorised aircraft platform with years of operational validation. This approach allows Avilus to reduce cost-per-flight-hour to a fraction of comparable systems, without compromising performance or reliability.

The system holds EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) "Specific" category certification for unmanned operations during peacetime. Ongoing serial production within Germany ensures short delivery lead times and scalability.

Pilot on Board, but Fully Remote Control

Footage released alongside the announcement shows the Bussard in its Optionally Piloted Vehicle (OPV) configuration. A safety pilot was on board during the test, but all actual flight control was executed by operators at the ground control station near Munich.

RasCore: The Core Avionics System

The remote operation was enabled by Avilus's proprietary RasCore flight control and avionics system, which serves as the technological backbone across the company's entire unmanned product line, including the Grille and Wespe platforms.

RasCore integrates all mission-critical components: operations and mission management, flight control, sensor and navigation systems, transponders, and a secure communications link between the aircraft and the ground station. Interoperability was a priority from the outset — RasCore can interface directly with the German Bundeswehr's and NATO's battlefield management systems.

From Testing Toward Full Unmanned Operations

While many comparable programmes remain at the concept or prototype stage, Avilus has demonstrated these capabilities in a mission-relevant environment following several months of test flights. A fully unmanned variant of the Bussard is currently in preparation.

Avilus CEO Niclas Bähr commented: "This will be the next milestone on our path toward a drone that combines cost-effectiveness, long-range capability, and European autonomy."

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