Germany Deploys New PEGASUS Electronic Surveillance Aircraft to Strengthen Air Force Capabilities
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
According to information published by HENSOLDT on August 5, 2025, Germany has officially commenced the operational deployment of its Persistent German Airborne Surveillance System (PEGASUS), establishing a new benchmark in national airborne signals intelligence (SIGINT) capability. Developed in strategic collaboration with HENSOLDT, Lufthansa Technik Defense, and Bombardier Defense, PEGASUS is based on the Bombardier Global 6000 jet platform and incorporates the Kalaetron Integral SIGINT suite. This advanced system enables real-time signal detection, adaptive threat analysis, and data fusion in complex operational environments, and marks Germany’s return to sovereign airborne electronic intelligence capabilities after more than a decade-long gap.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Germany’s PEGASUS aircraft delivers advanced electronic surveillance and real-time threat detection for the Air Force (Picture source : HENSOLDT)
PEGASUS is a software-defined, multi-domain ISR platform equipped to address the full spectrum of electromagnetic threats. The core of the system, HENSOLDT’s Kalaetron Integral, combines signals intelligence (SIGINT), electronic support measures (ESM), and electronic intelligence (ELINT) functionalities into a single modular suite. It features ultra-wideband digital receivers capable of scanning frequency ranges from HF to SHF, allowing it to detect and intercept both analog and modern digital waveforms, including frequency-hopping, burst transmissions, and encrypted signals. These receivers are supported by powerful onboard digital signal processors (DSPs) capable of conducting real-time demodulation, decryption support (when authorized), and spectral analysis. This allows mission crews to identify and classify emitters such as air defense radar systems, missile guidance signals, or military command communications with extreme accuracy and speed.
The system integrates a digital antenna array using active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology, which provides spatial filtering, direction finding (DF), and beam steering without mechanical movement. Using interferometric and time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) techniques, PEGASUS can triangulate emitter positions with sub-kilometer accuracy from long standoff ranges. The antenna arrays are conformally integrated into the fuselage of the Global 6000, maintaining the aircraft’s aerodynamic profile while supporting 360-degree signal coverage. Kalætron Integral also incorporates onboard artificial intelligence algorithms trained on electromagnetic signatures, allowing the platform to autonomously classify new emitter types, recognize electronic order-of-battle configurations, and issue alerts for emerging threats in seconds.
To support data-intensive operations, PEGASUS is equipped with high-throughput onboard servers and mission systems that allow parallel signal processing and target correlation. Data collected in-flight is transmitted securely in real time to ground command elements via multiple redundant communications channels, including line-of-sight (LOS) datalinks, SATCOM terminals, and encrypted IP-based networks. The mission systems are hardened for electromagnetic interference (EMI) and designed to function in GPS-denied or jammed environments, a key feature in modern contested battlespaces. Operators onboard have access to a mission suite with modular touchscreen workstations, advanced visualization tools, and tactical data fusion capabilities, enabling rapid coordination with other platforms such as fighters, UAVs, and maritime assets.
The PEGASUS platform is hosted on the Bombardier Global 6000, a high-performance business jet that offers the endurance, range, and altitude needed for sustained surveillance missions. With a maximum range of over 11,000 km and a service ceiling exceeding 15,000 meters, the aircraft can remain on station for extended periods while operating outside the reach of most ground-based threats. Its low acoustic and radar signatures further enhance its survivability and discretion during sensitive intelligence-gathering operations. Internally, the platform is equipped with multiple mission workstations, high-speed data links, and secure satellite communications, enabling live transmission of collected intelligence to ground stations or directly to joint command structures.
PEGASUS provides the German Air Force with a sovereign, flexible, and deeply integrated ISR tool that significantly strengthens situational awareness and threat anticipation. The ability to conduct persistent standoff surveillance and gather high-resolution SIGINT allows mission planners and decision-makers to map adversarial electronic order of battle, monitor hostile force movements, and prepare countermeasures in real time. PEGASUS enhances the effectiveness of other platforms, including fighter aircraft, unmanned systems, and ground-based air defense units, by feeding them with actionable intelligence and electronic threat mapping. In coalition scenarios, PEGASUS can seamlessly integrate with NATO’s Joint ISR architecture, improving the alliance’s ability to operate in highly contested electromagnetic domains. Furthermore, its quick re-tasking capability ensures that operators can dynamically adjust surveillance parameters in response to new threats without compromising the ongoing mission.
The deployment of PEGASUS also holds substantial geopolitical significance, as it arrives at a moment when the security environment around Europe is increasingly volatile. Following Russia’s renewed aggression in Eastern Europe, hybrid warfare, cyber attacks, and electronic interference have become standard components of grey zone conflict. For Germany, which had been without an airborne SIGINT platform since the cancellation of the Euro Hawk program in 2013, the fielding of PEGASUS represents a strategic leap in regaining autonomous intelligence capabilities. The platform enables Germany to independently monitor potential adversaries’ electronic activities, verify compliance with arms control agreements, and support NATO operations with domestically gathered intelligence. It reduces reliance on allied assets such as the U.S. RC-135 Rivet Joint or NATO’s AGS Global Hawk fleet, while also contributing valuable sensor diversity to joint operations.
Moreover, the PEGASUS program serves as a catalyst for strengthening Germany’s defense industrial base. With over 30 German defense companies involved in development and integration, including SMEs specializing in cybersecurity, software engineering, and electronic systems, the program ensures that critical technology know-how remains within national borders. This is particularly important as European defense initiatives such as the EU Strategic Compass and PESCO stress greater autonomy in intelligence and command capabilities. PEGASUS not only addresses an urgent operational gap but also aligns with Germany’s broader policy goal of achieving strategic sovereignty in defense technologies.
With the operational deployment of PEGASUS, Germany now joins the select group of nations capable of independently conducting complex airborne SIGINT missions in both peacetime and crisis environments. As electronic warfare continues to dominate the battlespace of the 21st century, the significance of this capability cannot be overstated. PEGASUS stands not only as a technological achievement but also as a strategic asset that reinforces Germany’s role as a credible and capable contributor to NATO’s collective defense posture.
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
According to information published by HENSOLDT on August 5, 2025, Germany has officially commenced the operational deployment of its Persistent German Airborne Surveillance System (PEGASUS), establishing a new benchmark in national airborne signals intelligence (SIGINT) capability. Developed in strategic collaboration with HENSOLDT, Lufthansa Technik Defense, and Bombardier Defense, PEGASUS is based on the Bombardier Global 6000 jet platform and incorporates the Kalaetron Integral SIGINT suite. This advanced system enables real-time signal detection, adaptive threat analysis, and data fusion in complex operational environments, and marks Germany’s return to sovereign airborne electronic intelligence capabilities after more than a decade-long gap.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Germany’s PEGASUS aircraft delivers advanced electronic surveillance and real-time threat detection for the Air Force (Picture source : HENSOLDT)
PEGASUS is a software-defined, multi-domain ISR platform equipped to address the full spectrum of electromagnetic threats. The core of the system, HENSOLDT’s Kalaetron Integral, combines signals intelligence (SIGINT), electronic support measures (ESM), and electronic intelligence (ELINT) functionalities into a single modular suite. It features ultra-wideband digital receivers capable of scanning frequency ranges from HF to SHF, allowing it to detect and intercept both analog and modern digital waveforms, including frequency-hopping, burst transmissions, and encrypted signals. These receivers are supported by powerful onboard digital signal processors (DSPs) capable of conducting real-time demodulation, decryption support (when authorized), and spectral analysis. This allows mission crews to identify and classify emitters such as air defense radar systems, missile guidance signals, or military command communications with extreme accuracy and speed.
The system integrates a digital antenna array using active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology, which provides spatial filtering, direction finding (DF), and beam steering without mechanical movement. Using interferometric and time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) techniques, PEGASUS can triangulate emitter positions with sub-kilometer accuracy from long standoff ranges. The antenna arrays are conformally integrated into the fuselage of the Global 6000, maintaining the aircraft’s aerodynamic profile while supporting 360-degree signal coverage. Kalætron Integral also incorporates onboard artificial intelligence algorithms trained on electromagnetic signatures, allowing the platform to autonomously classify new emitter types, recognize electronic order-of-battle configurations, and issue alerts for emerging threats in seconds.
To support data-intensive operations, PEGASUS is equipped with high-throughput onboard servers and mission systems that allow parallel signal processing and target correlation. Data collected in-flight is transmitted securely in real time to ground command elements via multiple redundant communications channels, including line-of-sight (LOS) datalinks, SATCOM terminals, and encrypted IP-based networks. The mission systems are hardened for electromagnetic interference (EMI) and designed to function in GPS-denied or jammed environments, a key feature in modern contested battlespaces. Operators onboard have access to a mission suite with modular touchscreen workstations, advanced visualization tools, and tactical data fusion capabilities, enabling rapid coordination with other platforms such as fighters, UAVs, and maritime assets.
The PEGASUS platform is hosted on the Bombardier Global 6000, a high-performance business jet that offers the endurance, range, and altitude needed for sustained surveillance missions. With a maximum range of over 11,000 km and a service ceiling exceeding 15,000 meters, the aircraft can remain on station for extended periods while operating outside the reach of most ground-based threats. Its low acoustic and radar signatures further enhance its survivability and discretion during sensitive intelligence-gathering operations. Internally, the platform is equipped with multiple mission workstations, high-speed data links, and secure satellite communications, enabling live transmission of collected intelligence to ground stations or directly to joint command structures.
PEGASUS provides the German Air Force with a sovereign, flexible, and deeply integrated ISR tool that significantly strengthens situational awareness and threat anticipation. The ability to conduct persistent standoff surveillance and gather high-resolution SIGINT allows mission planners and decision-makers to map adversarial electronic order of battle, monitor hostile force movements, and prepare countermeasures in real time. PEGASUS enhances the effectiveness of other platforms, including fighter aircraft, unmanned systems, and ground-based air defense units, by feeding them with actionable intelligence and electronic threat mapping. In coalition scenarios, PEGASUS can seamlessly integrate with NATO’s Joint ISR architecture, improving the alliance’s ability to operate in highly contested electromagnetic domains. Furthermore, its quick re-tasking capability ensures that operators can dynamically adjust surveillance parameters in response to new threats without compromising the ongoing mission.
The deployment of PEGASUS also holds substantial geopolitical significance, as it arrives at a moment when the security environment around Europe is increasingly volatile. Following Russia’s renewed aggression in Eastern Europe, hybrid warfare, cyber attacks, and electronic interference have become standard components of grey zone conflict. For Germany, which had been without an airborne SIGINT platform since the cancellation of the Euro Hawk program in 2013, the fielding of PEGASUS represents a strategic leap in regaining autonomous intelligence capabilities. The platform enables Germany to independently monitor potential adversaries’ electronic activities, verify compliance with arms control agreements, and support NATO operations with domestically gathered intelligence. It reduces reliance on allied assets such as the U.S. RC-135 Rivet Joint or NATO’s AGS Global Hawk fleet, while also contributing valuable sensor diversity to joint operations.
Moreover, the PEGASUS program serves as a catalyst for strengthening Germany’s defense industrial base. With over 30 German defense companies involved in development and integration, including SMEs specializing in cybersecurity, software engineering, and electronic systems, the program ensures that critical technology know-how remains within national borders. This is particularly important as European defense initiatives such as the EU Strategic Compass and PESCO stress greater autonomy in intelligence and command capabilities. PEGASUS not only addresses an urgent operational gap but also aligns with Germany’s broader policy goal of achieving strategic sovereignty in defense technologies.
With the operational deployment of PEGASUS, Germany now joins the select group of nations capable of independently conducting complex airborne SIGINT missions in both peacetime and crisis environments. As electronic warfare continues to dominate the battlespace of the 21st century, the significance of this capability cannot be overstated. PEGASUS stands not only as a technological achievement but also as a strategic asset that reinforces Germany’s role as a credible and capable contributor to NATO’s collective defense posture.
