Airbus, Dassault and Leonardo have revealed the first ‘Eurodrone’ model at the Berlin Air Show, upping the visibility of a project meant to show the continent’s growing military profile.
The medium-altitude, long-endurance ‘Eurodrone’ model uses a twin-turboprop propulsion system and will come in a strike-capable configuration when it reaches the launch stage in the mid-2020s.
Companies are building the unmanned drone so that it can operate immediately in the dense European airspace. Past practices saw acquisition of drones, whilst worrying about requisite certifications was secondary; this has proven to be problematic.
The model is based on a vehicle configuration agreed in 2017 by the partner nations:
- Germany;
- France;
- Italy; and
- Spain.
Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, said: “While still a lot of work lies ahead of us, this full-scale model represents a first milestone of what Europe can achieve in a high-technology sector if it bundles its industrial strength and know-how.” He added that he sees the approach to the drone as progress in the understanding for a new combat aircraft development.
Industry partners for the drone include:
- Airbus;
- Dassault; and
- Leonardo.
The European drone
When speaking to Defense News, Hoke said the drone, built by European partners, will come in one base configuration for all of the countries that can then be moved to expand, avoiding too many separate build types.
One of the elements of the Eurodrone will include a strike package. However, officials have said that they had not yet thought about the particulars of such a mission.
According to Hoke, the combat capability would depend on political feelings in each nation, adding that customers can choose to install the reconnaissance features.
Armed drones, however, are a difficult subject in Germany, as the weapons conjure up images of the USA government’s targeted killing of suspected terrorists, which many in the country reject.
By the time the issue of weapons arises for the Eurodrone, there may already be a resolution. This is because upcoming parliamentary decisions could lead to Germany’s first armed drone, the Heron TP, leased through Airbus from Israel.
