HENSOLDT Conducts A400M Drop Test of Scaled HADIS Glider for Future High-Altitude Military Resupply
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HENSOLDT has completed flight tests of its High Altitude Drop Infiltrating System, or HADIS, released from an A400M transport aircraft during trials announced on 5 February 2026 in Taufkirchen. The results point to a potential low-signature method for sustaining dispersed forces while keeping high-value transport aircraft outside contested airspace.
On 5 February 2026 in Taufkirchen, Germany, HENSOLDT announced the successful completion of flight tests of its High Altitude Drop Infiltrating System (HADIS) deployed from an A400M transport aircraft. Released through the company’s official channels, the update describes an expendable unmanned cargo glider concept intended to move supplies forward while keeping the crewed carrier aircraft at stand-off distance. The announcement arrives as armed forces increasingly look for practical ways to sustain small, dispersed units under air-defence pressure without routine exposure of high-value transport aircraft to contested airspace.
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HENSOLDT has successfully tested a scaled HADIS unmanned cargo glider dropped from an A400M, highlighting a potential low-risk way to resupply dispersed forces from outside contested airspace (Picture Source: Hensoldt)
HENSOLDT presents HADIS as an unmanned, autonomous, disposable remote carrier that can be deployed from a transport aircraft and, in its initial configuration, is designed as a cargo glider. The company states the system was conceptualized in 2024 as part of a self-financed innovation project and had already been successfully deployed from smaller transport aircraft prior to the A400M trial series.
The flight-test campaign conducted last autumn focused on demonstrating the functionality of a scaled 1:3 HADIS glider and validating two core proof points that determine the concept’s viability: safe deployment using a parachute extraction method and autonomous waypoint navigation during gliding flight. HENSOLDT reports that both the extraction sequence and the waypoint-guided glide were successfully demonstrated, establishing a credible end-to-end chain from release to controlled transit toward a designated landing area.
Bundeswehr participation is a central element of the milestone. According to HENSOLDT, the German Armed Forces supported the campaign by providing an A400M, and the trials were accompanied by the Bundeswehr Technical Center for Aircraft and Aeronautical Equipment (WTD 61). This combination places the tests in a military test-and-evaluation context and signals interest in assessing the concept against operational constraints rather than limiting it to a company demonstration.
The programme’s next step is defined by a clear performance ambition and a deadline. HENSOLDT states the results “clear the way” for further targeted development so that a full-scale demonstrator can be provided as a cargo glider by the end of 2026. The company adds that this demonstrator should be capable of transporting loads of up to 500 kg to distances of up to 120 km after being dropped from a transport aircraft, a range-and-payload combination intended to expand stand-off delivery options for deployed forces.
HENSOLDT’s official description also details how HADIS is meant to be used from the aircraft. After the cargo ramp is opened, the cargo glider is pulled out of the transport box in the cargo hold by an extraction chute and then transitions into the gliding phase. Navigation to the designated landing zone can be controlled by local forces on the ground, controlled from the aircraft, or executed autonomously via waypoint navigation. The company notes that precise parachute landing enables delivery at essentially any location, reinforcing the system’s focus on reaching small units where established drop zones or forward logistics nodes may be absent or too risky to use.
Operationally, HADIS is framed as a disposable platform intended to supply special forces operating deep in enemy territory, with control electronics housed entirely in the wings and the fuselage serving primarily as a cargo box. HENSOLDT emphasizes that the initial version has no propulsion system that would generate noise or other emissions, a design choice presented as making the glider more difficult to detect during the terminal portion of the mission. The deployment concept also envisages releasing several HADIS systems from a transport container, enabling them to fly in swarm formation to a common landing point or to separate landing points, which, if matured, would support synchronized multi-point distribution rather than single-drop resupply.
HENSOLDT’s A400M test campaign moves HADIS beyond a paper concept by validating parachute extraction and autonomous waypoint-guided gliding on a scaled vehicle under Bundeswehr-supported conditions. The programme’s next credibility milestone is the end-2026 full-scale demonstrator objective, where the stated 500 kg payload and 120 km delivery range will determine how far HADIS can translate stand-off airlift into practical, lower-signature sustainment for teams operating deeper inside contested areas and under tighter air-defence constraints.
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HENSOLDT has completed flight tests of its High Altitude Drop Infiltrating System, or HADIS, released from an A400M transport aircraft during trials announced on 5 February 2026 in Taufkirchen. The results point to a potential low-signature method for sustaining dispersed forces while keeping high-value transport aircraft outside contested airspace.
On 5 February 2026 in Taufkirchen, Germany, HENSOLDT announced the successful completion of flight tests of its High Altitude Drop Infiltrating System (HADIS) deployed from an A400M transport aircraft. Released through the company’s official channels, the update describes an expendable unmanned cargo glider concept intended to move supplies forward while keeping the crewed carrier aircraft at stand-off distance. The announcement arrives as armed forces increasingly look for practical ways to sustain small, dispersed units under air-defence pressure without routine exposure of high-value transport aircraft to contested airspace.
HENSOLDT has successfully tested a scaled HADIS unmanned cargo glider dropped from an A400M, highlighting a potential low-risk way to resupply dispersed forces from outside contested airspace (Picture Source: Hensoldt)
HENSOLDT presents HADIS as an unmanned, autonomous, disposable remote carrier that can be deployed from a transport aircraft and, in its initial configuration, is designed as a cargo glider. The company states the system was conceptualized in 2024 as part of a self-financed innovation project and had already been successfully deployed from smaller transport aircraft prior to the A400M trial series.
The flight-test campaign conducted last autumn focused on demonstrating the functionality of a scaled 1:3 HADIS glider and validating two core proof points that determine the concept’s viability: safe deployment using a parachute extraction method and autonomous waypoint navigation during gliding flight. HENSOLDT reports that both the extraction sequence and the waypoint-guided glide were successfully demonstrated, establishing a credible end-to-end chain from release to controlled transit toward a designated landing area.
Bundeswehr participation is a central element of the milestone. According to HENSOLDT, the German Armed Forces supported the campaign by providing an A400M, and the trials were accompanied by the Bundeswehr Technical Center for Aircraft and Aeronautical Equipment (WTD 61). This combination places the tests in a military test-and-evaluation context and signals interest in assessing the concept against operational constraints rather than limiting it to a company demonstration.
The programme’s next step is defined by a clear performance ambition and a deadline. HENSOLDT states the results “clear the way” for further targeted development so that a full-scale demonstrator can be provided as a cargo glider by the end of 2026. The company adds that this demonstrator should be capable of transporting loads of up to 500 kg to distances of up to 120 km after being dropped from a transport aircraft, a range-and-payload combination intended to expand stand-off delivery options for deployed forces.
HENSOLDT’s official description also details how HADIS is meant to be used from the aircraft. After the cargo ramp is opened, the cargo glider is pulled out of the transport box in the cargo hold by an extraction chute and then transitions into the gliding phase. Navigation to the designated landing zone can be controlled by local forces on the ground, controlled from the aircraft, or executed autonomously via waypoint navigation. The company notes that precise parachute landing enables delivery at essentially any location, reinforcing the system’s focus on reaching small units where established drop zones or forward logistics nodes may be absent or too risky to use.
Operationally, HADIS is framed as a disposable platform intended to supply special forces operating deep in enemy territory, with control electronics housed entirely in the wings and the fuselage serving primarily as a cargo box. HENSOLDT emphasizes that the initial version has no propulsion system that would generate noise or other emissions, a design choice presented as making the glider more difficult to detect during the terminal portion of the mission. The deployment concept also envisages releasing several HADIS systems from a transport container, enabling them to fly in swarm formation to a common landing point or to separate landing points, which, if matured, would support synchronized multi-point distribution rather than single-drop resupply.
HENSOLDT’s A400M test campaign moves HADIS beyond a paper concept by validating parachute extraction and autonomous waypoint-guided gliding on a scaled vehicle under Bundeswehr-supported conditions. The programme’s next credibility milestone is the end-2026 full-scale demonstrator objective, where the stated 500 kg payload and 120 km delivery range will determine how far HADIS can translate stand-off airlift into practical, lower-signature sustainment for teams operating deeper inside contested areas and under tighter air-defence constraints.
