Harmattan AI, a French defense-tech company, said its compact Sahara SAR radar for drones will be integrated into Ukrainian systems and deployed in Ukraine. The sensor allows for terrain imagery and object detection even when optics are blinded by weather or darkness.
Harmattan AI, a French defense-tech company, said its compact Sahara SAR radar for drones will be integrated into Ukrainian systems and deployed in Ukraine. The sensor allows for terrain imagery and object detection even when optics are blinded by weather or darkness.
According to Le Grand Continent, Harmattan AI CEO Muad M’Gary calls the key advantage of SAR radars the ability to work when optics are almost powerless: at night, in fog, under continuous clouds or during rain. Such a sensor illuminates the area with radio waves and forms a detailed image from the reflected signal, so it depends much less on visibility than a camera or thermal imager.
The company promotes the Sahara module as a compact airborne radar for reconnaissance from UAVs. The Harmattan AI website states that the Sahara provides a resolution of 0.25 m at a distance of 2 km and 1.2 m at 10 km, weighs less than 3.5 kg and consumes up to 65 W. Such characteristics allow you to install SAR not only on heavy platforms, but also on smaller reconnaissance complexes to obtain images of the terrain in difficult weather conditions.
Speaking to Le Grand Continent, McGary also explained that after the experience of the war in Ukraine, it is worth betting not only on the best systems, but also on rapid deployment and serial production. He added that European manufacturers have a lot to learn from the Ukrainian industry, which is changing very quickly under the pressure of front-line needs.
In October 2025, Ukrainian Skyeton and Harmattan AI announced a strategic partnership that involves integrating Harmattan AI sensors into Raybird UAVs. Which Ukrainian platforms will be the first to receive Sahara and when deliveries will begin were not specified in this interview.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how the Ukrainian tactical drone Raybird received a new function: the Skyeton company integrated a payload in the form of a radio-electronic reconnaissance system into the device, which allows it to detect signals from enemy electronic warfare, radars, and air defense systems without crossing the front line.
