ISTAR · Autonomous · Mesh
Intelligence at the edge of the airspace.
Balorite Systems engineers autonomous ISTAR drones for operators who cannot afford to be seen — or to miss what others can't.
INTEL
Surveillance
SURV
Target Acquisition
TGT
Reconnaissance
RECON
Edge Autonomy
Flagship Platform
Meet the
Balorite Nexus.
A multi-role ISTAR airframe built around onboard AI, redundant sense-and-avoid, and a self-healing mesh radio. Operates as a single asset or as a node in a coordinated swarm.
◉ REC · NEXUS / 001
MTOW
450 kg
PAYLOAD
120 kg
ENDURANCE
18–30 h
CEILING
25,000 ft
Capabilities
Six integrated systems. One autonomous platform.
01
Onboard AI
- Real-time detection & classification of 20+ object classes at ≥90% accuracy out to 12 km.
- Rule-based threat prioritisation with human override.
- Cross-sensor tip-and-cue (SAR / GMTI / EO / IR) under 1 sec latency.
- Low-power edge accelerator — under 25 W, 30–100 FPS at 25,000 ft.
02
Sense & Avoid
- mmWave radar plus EO/IR stereo for non-cooperative traffic.
- Detect, track and resolve trajectories at 20 Hz, closure up to 300 kt.
- Autonomous avoidance manoeuvre initiated in under 3 sec.
- Designed for segregated military airspace.
03
Mesh Networking
- Self-forming mesh — up to 32 nodes, 15 km link range.
- Intra-swarm mmWave (25–100 GHz) at up to 1.2 Gbps.
- Dual-band failover to C-band (5.2–5.8 GHz) in under 100 ms for rain fade.
- Onboard AI cuts uplink demand by 80–95%.
04
Counter-UAS
- Passive RF DF 20 MHz – 6 GHz plus AI-driven EO/IR drone detection.
- Detection range 3–5 km against small quadcopters; track update 10 Hz.
- Directional GNSS/RF jammer (2–6 GHz) effective to 1–2 km.
- Full suite: 4 kg, 80 W peak — fits within standard payload.
05
EW Resilience
- Anti-jam GPS (M-code / SAASM options, export-controlled).
- Frequency-hopping data link 2–18 GHz via certified defence radios.
- Survivability through altitude (>15,000 ft) and low observability.
- Loss-of-link autonomy: loiter, then recover to programmed point.
06
BLOS & SATCOM
- UAV-to-UAV mesh relay extends LOS beyond the horizon.
- Optional plug-in Iridium Certus pod up to 704 kbps.
- Optional flat-panel Ku-band pod up to 10 Mbps.
- Ground link sustained at up to 50 Mbps.
Technical Brief
Nexus / Spec Sheet
§
System
Designation
Balorite Nexus
Type
Tactical / MALE UAV
Primary Missions
Persistent ISTAR, C-UAS, Border & Maritime Patrol, Disaster Monitoring
Operational Concept
Swarm-capable, autonomous sense-and-avoid, decentralised mesh
Target Users
Military, Homeland Security, Civil Protection
§
Air Vehicle
Max Take-off Weight
450 kg (optional 650 kg)
Payload Capacity
120 kg internal + 30 kg external
Wingspan
10.5 m
Endurance
18–30 hours
Ceiling
25,000 ft
Cruise Speed
110–150 kt
Launch & Recovery
Runway independent — catapult/rail + parachute/net
§
Sensor Suite
EO/IR
4K daylight + 1080p MWIR, 10 km laser rangefinder
SAR
Ku-band, 0.3 m resolution
GMTI
Ground Moving Target Indicator, min velocity 5 km/h
COMINT (optional)
20 MHz – 6 GHz, DF accuracy 3° RMS
C-UAS RF Detector
Passive 20 MHz – 6 GHz, DF accuracy 5°
§
Comms & Data
Intra-swarm
mmWave 25–100 GHz, up to 1.2 Gbps, 32 nodes / 15 km
Rain Fade Fallback
C-band 5.2–5.8 GHz, handover < 100 ms
Ground Link
Up to 50 Mbps
BLOS (optional)
Iridium Certus 704 kbps · Ku-band pod 10 Mbps
Bandwidth Strategy
Onboard AI reduces uplink by 80–95%
§
Physical & Environmental
Operating Temp
–20 °C to +55 °C
Rain Resilience
Full mmWave to 5 mm/hr, auto C-band > 5 mm/hr, tested to 50 mm/hr
Wind Limit
45 kt sustained (gust 55 kt) for launch & recovery
Acoustic Signature
< 75 dBA at 300 m (electric propulsion option)
§
Autonomy & Human Interaction
Autonomy Level
L3 conditional — SAA autonomous, mission human-supervised
Ground Control Station
2 operators, touch + physical controls, 15″ daylight-readable
Loss of Link
Loiter at last safe coordinate; recover after 10 min
Note — Sense-and-avoid is qualified for segregated military airspace. Civil airspace operation requires waivers. Hard-kill countermeasures are not fitted; survivability is delivered through altitude and low observability.
// Operational Briefing
Request a closed briefing on Nexus.
We work with vetted defense and security operators. Briefings are invitation-only and conducted under NDA.