Role & capabilities
- Reconnaissance
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- EMT / Rheinmetall programme lineage
- Origin / production countries
- Germany
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- Original LUNA; LUNA NG / HUSAR is separate
- Operators / programme customers
- German Army
Evidence & current status
Supplier information is attributed; performance and operational acceptance require configuration-specific evidence.
The original LUNA is a reusable reconnaissance aircraft described in the Bundeswehr equipment register. It provides day and night imagery and uses a piston engine, with catapult launch and parachute or net recovery. These characteristics distinguish the aircraft from the smaller electric ALADIN and the later LUNA NG.
The operator table is a historical configuration baseline. Its range describes the reconnaissance system, rather than a licence to combine the largest published distance with every payload and weather condition. Different transport arrangements listed by the Army are system configurations, not automatically separate aircraft designs.
The original model remains valuable in a reference catalogue even as replacement programmes progress. A new aircraft being ordered does not establish the date on which every older unit was retired. This profile records documented use while leaving current fleet quantities and the final transition timetable open.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Reusable fixed-wing aircraft | Original LUNA, not LUNA NG. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Catapult / parachute or net | Public equipment description. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Two-cylinder piston engine | Bundeswehr baseline. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Mass | 40 kg | Operator-listed aircraft mass. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Up to 6 hours | Historical operator baseline. Source ↗ |
| Range | 80 km | System operating-range figure, not ferry distance. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Up to 130 km/h | Operator table. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | 4,000 m | Operator-listed maximum flight altitude. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Day and infrared imaging | Original system payload family. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
Publication history
- — Added in the September 2026 global coverage review, with sources, configuration limits and explicit data gaps.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- Bundeswehr original LUNA equipment profile (opens in a new tab)Government / operator