Germany has received the first high-altitude unmanned aircraft system (UAS), Euro Hawk, for the German Air Force in Manching Air Base, Germany.

The Euro Hawk, based on the RQ-4 Global Hawk, will be integrated with a new signals intelligence (SIGINT) mission system developed by Cassidian.

The first long-endurance (HALE) SIGINT UAS features a larger wingspan, endurance of 30 hours and a maximum altitude of more than 60,000ft.

The aircraft system will replace the fleet of manned Breguet Atlantic aircraft and will support Nato, EU and UN operations.

Delivery of the first Euro Hawk demonstrator is scheduled for mid 2012, with another four systems temporarily scheduled between 2015 and 2017.