The European Medium Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (MALE RPAS), or Eurodrone, is a twin-turboprop

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 Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...

Dassault Aviation Dassault Aviation SA () is a French Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets. It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Dassault, Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marc ...

and

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...

for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, with a first flight expected by mid-2027.

Development

On 18 May 2015,

and

launched a European MALE RPAS study over two years, joined by

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

OCCAR The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (French: ''Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d'ARmement''; OCCAR) is a European intergovernmental organisation that facilitates and manages collaborative armament programmes throug ...

, with

European Defence Agency The European Defence Agency (EDA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) that promotes and facilitates integration between member states within the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The EDA is headed by the High Representative ...

support for

air traffic Air Traffic are an English alternative rock band from Bournemouth signed to EMI Records. Formed in 2003, the band consists of Chris Wall (piano, lead vocals), David Ryan Jordan (Drums), Tom Pritchard (guitar) and Jim Maddock (bass guitar). ...

integration and

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

. 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.

and

unveiled a full-scale mockup at the April 2018

ILA Berlin Air Show The ILA Berlin Air Show (German: Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung (ILA)) combines a major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries with a public airshow. It is held every even year at the new Berlin ExpoCenter Air ...

.AirbusDassault AviationLeonardo
/ref> On 31 October 2018, OCCAR invited

Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Defence and Space is the division of Airbus SE responsible for the development and manufacturing of the corporation's defence and space products, while also providing related services. The division was formed in January 2014 during the ...

to submit a tender for the program, to coordinate the major sub-contractors, Dassault and Leonardo. On 22 November, the System

Preliminary Design Review In the United States military integrated acquisition lifecycle the Technical section has multiple acquisition "Technical Reviews". Technical reviews and audits assist the acquisition and the number and types are tailored to the acquisition. Over ...

was achieved, allowing the stakeholders to align their

requirements In product development and process optimization, a requirement is a singular documented physical or functional need that a particular design, product or process aims to satisfy. It is commonly used in a formal sense in engineering design, includi ...

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 The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 34 ...

criticised the platform as "too heavy, too expensive and therefore, too difficult to export" due to "German specifications".

First flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...

was then scheduled for 2024, before first deliveries for 2027. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry, contract signing slipped to 2021, selecting the Airbus site at

Manching Manching is a municipality in the district of Pfaffenhofen, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Paar, 7 km southeast of Ingolstadt. In the late Iron Age, there was a Celtic settlement, the Oppidum of Manching, on the location of ...

for final assembly and ground testing. The

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...

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 The General Electric Catalyst (formerly Advanced Turboprop, or ATP) is a turboprop engine by GE Aviation. It was announced on 16 November 2015 and will power the Beechcraft Denali, it first ran on December 22, 2017, and should be certified in 20 ...

turboprop over the

Safran Ardiden The Safran Ardiden is a turboshaft designed and produced by Safran Helicopter Engines for single and twin-engine helicopters. Launched in 2003 as a more powerful TM 333, it first ran in 2005 and was introduced in 2007. The Ardiden 1 ''Shakt ...

3TP.

Design

Missions targeted are long endurance

intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing t ...

and

ground support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...

with precision-guided weapons. The twin-

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

s are mounted in a

pusher configuration In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...

behind the wing, similar to the smaller

BAE Systems Mantis The BAE Systems Mantis Unmanned Autonomous System Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrator is a British demonstrator programme for Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) technology. The Mantis is a twin-engine, turboprop-powered UCAV with a wingsp ...

, and one-third larger than the

MQ-9 The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Unit ...

. 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 The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

, has been critical of its cost and weight. At 11,000 kg, it is over twice as heavy as an

MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Unit ...

. A French politician overseeing the RPAS project,

Christian Cambon Christian Cambon (born 8 March 1948) is a French politician of the Republicans (LR) who has been serving as a member of the Senate since 2004, representing the Val-de-Marne department. Early life and education Cambon graduated from the Paris ...

, criticized it as suffering from "obesity." MALE-RPAS (Eurodrone) dimensions

Operators

; *

French Air and Space Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

- 12 drones (4 systems) on contract ; *

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...

- 21 drones (7 systems) on contract ; *

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

- 15 drones (5 systems) on contract ; *

Spanish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment ...

- 12 drones (4 systems) on contract

Specifications

References

External links