African Pilot Weekly Magazine 40:2026

Drones in defence and security have grown fast, and Hussar Security and Defence Solutions has been part of that from the start. Director Tom Kruger told African Pilot at AAD 2026 that the company has been active in drones for 12 years.

From early adopter to regulated operator

Hussar was one of the first companies to take up drones in the security space in 2012 and 2013, and went through the legalisation process in 2015. “We really picked up a lot of experience, not only from an operational perspective, but also all the legal aviation requirements,” Kruger said, calling it a “very heavily regulated industry”. He says the use of drones in security and law enforcement has grown dramatically over the last five years.

Capability as a service

Hussar is now turning part of its business towards defence. Its focus is on bridging the gap between large defence contracting and small company innovation, from manufacturing through to application. Kruger says the aim is not to replace traditional contracting, but to bring smaller drone operators, manufacturers and R&D companies into the state apparatus, creating what he calls “capability as a service”.

The lines are blurred

Kruger points to how much AAD itself has changed. “If you take AAD 10 years ago, zero drones. Today, there’s almost not a stand that doesn’t somehow link up with drones,” he said. In his view the technology has matured in both defence and commercial markets to the point where the difference is hard to see. “There’s almost no single-use systems left,” he said, adding that even commercially available drones carry capability that can be applied almost anywhere.

Hussar plans to be part of a growing drone industry in both the private and defence sectors.