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The European Medium Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (MALE RPAS), or Eurodrone, is a twin-turboprop
AirbusDassault AviationLeonardo
/ref> On 31 October 2018, OCCAR invited Airbus Defence and Space to submit a Request for tender, tender for the program, to coordinate the major sub-contractors, Dassault and Leonardo. On 22 November, the System Preliminary Design Review was achieved, allowing the stakeholders to align their requirements and contract in 2019. In late May 2019, Airbus submitted its offer, but the contract signing may slip from 2019 to 2020. In the summer, the French Senate criticised the platform as "too heavy, too expensive and therefore, too difficult to export" due to "German specifications". First flight was then scheduled for 2024, before first deliveries for 2027. Due to the Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_aviation#Aerospace_manufacturers, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry, contract signing slipped to 2021, selecting the Airbus site at Manching for final assembly and ground testing. The maiden flight was then scheduled for 2025, before first deliveries for 2028 of a contract for 60 drones. On 24 February 2022, the development and production contract was approved. The prototype first flight is expected by mid-2027. On 25 March 2022, Airbus Defence & Space confirmed the selection of the General Electric Catalyst turboprop over the Safran Ardiden 3TP.
Airbus Eurodrone webpage
Dassault Eurodrone webpage
Leonardo MALE RPAS webpage
Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles Low-wing aircraft Twin-engined pusher aircraft Unmanned military aircraft of Germany Unmanned experimental aircraft International proposed aircraft Unmanned aerial vehicles of Spain Unmanned military aircraft of France Unmanned military aircraft of Italy International unmanned aerial vehicles
MALE UAV
Male (Mars symbol, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization.
A male organism cannot sexual reproduction, repro ...
under development by Airbus, Dassault Aviation and Leonardo S.p.A., Leonardo for Germany, France, Italy and Spain, with a first flight expected by mid-2027.
Development
On 18 May 2015, France, Germany and Italy launched a European Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, MALE RPAS study over two years, joined by Spain since, to define its operational capabilities, system requirements and preliminary design. In November 2015, the program management was assigned to the European defence procurement agency Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation, OCCAR, with European Defence Agency support for air traffic integration and certification. The definition study was to be contracted in the first half of 2016, the potential development and production then aiming for a 2025 first delivery. A two-year definition study was launched in September 2016. Airbus, Dassault Aviation and Leonardo_S.p.A., Leonardo unveiled a full-scale mockup at the April 2018 ILA Berlin Air Show./ref> On 31 October 2018, OCCAR invited Airbus Defence and Space to submit a Request for tender, tender for the program, to coordinate the major sub-contractors, Dassault and Leonardo. On 22 November, the System Preliminary Design Review was achieved, allowing the stakeholders to align their requirements and contract in 2019. In late May 2019, Airbus submitted its offer, but the contract signing may slip from 2019 to 2020. In the summer, the French Senate criticised the platform as "too heavy, too expensive and therefore, too difficult to export" due to "German specifications". First flight was then scheduled for 2024, before first deliveries for 2027. Due to the Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_aviation#Aerospace_manufacturers, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry, contract signing slipped to 2021, selecting the Airbus site at Manching for final assembly and ground testing. The maiden flight was then scheduled for 2025, before first deliveries for 2028 of a contract for 60 drones. On 24 February 2022, the development and production contract was approved. The prototype first flight is expected by mid-2027. On 25 March 2022, Airbus Defence & Space confirmed the selection of the General Electric Catalyst turboprop over the Safran Ardiden 3TP.
Design
Missions targeted are long endurance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and ground support with precision-guided weapons. The twin-turboprops are mounted in a pusher configuration behind the wing, similar to the smaller BAE Systems Mantis, and one-third larger than the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, MQ-9. The drone's dual engines were a demand of Germany, which intended to use the UAV for surveillance over domestic urban areas and was concerned that an engine failure in a single-engine drone could lead to the drone crashing into a house. France, which intends to use the system over conflict zones such as the Sahel, has been critical of its cost and weight. At 11,000 kg, it is over twice as heavy as an General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, MQ-9 Reaper. A French politician overseeing the RPAS project, Christian Cambon, criticized it as suffering from "obesity."
Operators
; * French Air and Space Force - 12 drones (4 systems) on contract ; * German Air Force - 21 drones (7 systems) on contract ; * Italian Air Force - 15 drones (5 systems) on contract ; * Spanish Air Force - 12 drones (4 systems) on contractSpecifications
See also
References
External links
* {{official website, https://www.occar.int/programmes/male-rpasAirbus Eurodrone webpage
Dassault Eurodrone webpage
Leonardo MALE RPAS webpage
Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles Low-wing aircraft Twin-engined pusher aircraft Unmanned military aircraft of Germany Unmanned experimental aircraft International proposed aircraft Unmanned aerial vehicles of Spain Unmanned military aircraft of France Unmanned military aircraft of Italy International unmanned aerial vehicles