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South Africa Milkor (Pty) Ltd
Milkor 380
The largest medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft designed and built in Africa, in production at Milkor's Cape Town facility since its September 2023 maiden flight, with EO/IR, SAR and precision-guided-munition hardpoints, and export interest from Saudi Arabia and South America.
In service since 2023
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗
4,000
km range
9,144
m ceiling
220
kg payload
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
National export licensing
Subject to South Africa export-control approval; verify eligibility with the manufacturer.
Channel: Direct commercial / G2G
Fielded & proven
Operator data not public
In service since 2023. Status: active · ~6 built.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
No public unit price to model from. Why so few systems publish one →
Interoperability
No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.
Competitive field
74 comparable systems from 36 other manufacturers
Counted in the WeaponSpecs database: UAVs built by another manufacturer that share at least one published role with this system. A count of what this catalog holds, not a survey of the whole market. See the alternatives →
Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Overview
The Milkor 380 is a twin-tail-boom, propeller-driven MALE UCAV first flown on 19 September 2023, built entirely in-house at Milkor's Cape Town, South Africa facility and marketed as the largest UAV of its kind ever designed and manufactured in Africa. It carries electro-optical/infrared sensors, a fully integrated synthetic aperture radar, and hardpoints for precision-guided munitions, communications-relay pods and electronic-warfare payloads, giving it both ISR and light strike roles. Production is running at roughly eight airframes a year at Cape Town, with Milkor targeting an increase to around 16 a year, and the company has pursued export and local-assembly discussions with Saudi Arabia and interest from South American customers alongside African orders; a larger stablemate, the Milkor 780, is in earlier-stage development.
Full specifications
Performance
Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.
| Cruise speed Sustained economical speed. Determines transit time to station. | 130 km/h |
|---|---|
| Range Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence. | 4,000 km |
| Service ceiling Maximum operating altitude. Higher gives energy advantage and sensor horizon. | 9,144 m |
| Endurance Time on station. Critical for UAVs and patrol platforms, higher means longer persistent coverage. On a ground robot, published continuous run time on a full charge or fuel tank. | 30 h |
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
| Weapons payload Maximum ordnance weight the platform can carry. Higher means more strike capacity per sortie. | 220 kg |
|---|
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
| Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable. | 9 m |
|---|---|
| Wingspan Wingtip-to-wingtip span. | 18.6 m |
| Combat weight Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor. | 1,300 kg |
| Crew Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity. | 0 |
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
| Sensors IRST, EO/IR turrets, laser designators, sniper pods, thermal sights. | Electro-optical/infrared targeting turret, Synthetic aperture radar |
|---|
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
| Units built Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability. | 6 |
|---|
Specifications compiled from public Milkor (Pty) Ltd and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-08-22.
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What is the range of the Milkor (Pty) Ltd Milkor 380? +
The Milkor (Pty) Ltd Milkor 380 has a maximum range of 4,000 km.
What is the weapons payload of the Milkor (Pty) Ltd Milkor 380? +
The Milkor (Pty) Ltd Milkor 380 can carry up to 220 kg of weapons payload.
How much does the Milkor (Pty) Ltd Milkor 380 weigh? +
The Milkor (Pty) Ltd Milkor 380 has a combat weight of 1,300 kg.
How many crew does the Milkor (Pty) Ltd Milkor 380 require? +
The Milkor (Pty) Ltd Milkor 380 requires a crew of 0.
What is the Milkor (Pty) Ltd Milkor 380 used for? +
The Milkor (Pty) Ltd Milkor 380 is a uav / drone typically used for isr, close air support, electronic warfare.
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