Africa’s 3rd strongest air force receives half a dozen HT-100 unmanned helicopters from the UAE as part of a €1 billion deal for 3 warships

Prior to the delivery, the UAVs completed Factory Acceptance Trials (FAT), supervised between August 24 and August 28 at the ANAVIA facility in Switzerland.

The trials were attended by a delegation from the Angolan Navy and Simportex, Angola’s public enterprise specialising in the supply, acquisition and importation of equipment, materiel and services supporting the country’s defence and security sector, as reported by DefenseWeb.

“The successful completion of the Factory Acceptance Trials marks an important milestone in the delivery of this advanced capability to the Angolan Navy,” said Khaled Al Zaabi, President – Platforms & Systems, EDGE Group.

“Through close collaboration across EDGE, ADSB, and ANAVIA, we are combining naval platforms and unmanned systems to deliver an integrated solution aligned with Angola’s operational requirements.”

Adding to what Al Zaabi stated, Ishan Sahgal, Co-CEO and Founder, ANAVIA, also commented that the “ milestone demonstrates our ability to deliver a complete, fully autonomous system for shipborne operations, closely tailored to the customer’s operational requirements.

The close cooperation with the Angolan Navy, EDGE, and our industry partners demonstrates our innovative capabilities and further strengthens international confidence in our products.”

The six HT-100 NAVAL unmanned helicopters are scheduled for integration onto three BR71 MK II Combattante corvettes, which are currently being supplied to the Angolan Navy by Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB), the naval defense arm of EDGE Group.

“The programme represents a significant international naval engagement for EDGE and supports the Angolan Navy’s ongoing modernisation and maritime security requirements,” EDGE said.

The initiative will then move closer to operational service with the Angolan Navy through sea testing of the integrated capabilities aboard Angolan vessels.

As mentioned earlier, the Angolan Navy and EDGE secured a €1 billion deal that includes the BR71 MK II program.

Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) launched the first-of-class vessel, NRA Ekuikui II, at Cherbourg, France, on March 4 of this year.

It is expected to be delivered in October.

The BR71 Mk II program is a naval project involving the construction of three new corvettes for Angola, which ranks 3rd in Global Firepower’s ranking of African countries with the strongest military aircraft fleet and 65th globally.

The Southern African country signed a €1 billion deal with UAE-based EDGE Group in 2023 for the vessels as part of efforts to strengthen its maritime security.

The 70-metre warships are designed to patrol Angola’s coastline, protect offshore oil facilities, fight piracy and monitor the country’s territorial waters.

The ships will also carry unmanned helicopters such as the HT1-100, to improve surveillance and intelligence gathering.

The vessel accommodates a complement of 50 personnel and achieves a maximum speed of 30 knots, with an operational range of 2,500 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 12 knots.

Its propulsion system consists of four MTU engines driving two steering and two booster water-jets. Additionally, the vessel is capable of accommodating a 5-tonne class helicopter on its aft deck, alongside two six-metre rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs).

According to the company’s official website, “the ANAVIA HT-100 is a Swiss-engineered and manufactured unmanned VTOL helicopter with a 120 kg maximum take-off weight, 60 kg payload capacity, and 6-hour flight endurance.

It uses a unique Flettner intermeshing rotor system powered by a 15 kW shaft turbine burning JET A-1 fuel at just 9 litres per hour. It is designed for ISR, search and rescue, logistics, and inspection missions.”

The operational range of the HT-100 is virtually limitless when utilizing LTE or SATCOM links, complemented by an encrypted terrestrial data link enabling beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight routines across a maximum mission distance of 600 km.

It operates at a cruise speed of 100 km/h and can reach a top airspeed of 120 km/h.

“The HT-100 Naval variant features a fully autonomous radar-guided deck landing system, corrosion-resistant airframe with sealed electronics, marine-grade surface treatments, and emergency equipment including harpoon, floats, and ELT.”

The company noted that the system can operate from corvettes to carriers in up to Sea State 3 conditions.