MALE RPAS - MEDIUM ALTITUDE LONG ENDURANCE REMOTELY PILOTED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM
Requirements and capabilities
Nowadays, most Intelligence, Surveillance and
Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities in the European Defence arena rely on non-European
Union manufacturers, weakening Europe’s strategic autonomy.
With the aim to ensure European strategic
sovereignty the Participating States (PS) Germany, France, Spain and Italy,
under the management of OCCAR MALE RPAS PD, gathered their requirements to
develop the European MALE RPAS (aka Eurodrone).
The MALE RPAS is an indispensable capability to
facilitate international conflict prevention and crisis management during all
phases of operation – especially in the field of Intelligence, Surveillance,
Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR).
The MALE RPAS is the very first opportunity for the
European industries to participate in a large Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
programme designed to be integrated into civil air traffic and to operate in
non-segregated airspace.
The development of
MALE RPAS will secure European technological capabilities and sustainment in
this ISTAR area and will foster the European Defence Technological and
Industrial Base (EDTIB).
From history to the future
Since its launch in 2016, the MALE RPAS Programme
has successfully passed a number of significant milestones. A Definition Study
was initiated to define common requirements between Germany, France, Italy and Spain
and was successfully concluded in 2018 with a System Requirement Review (SRR)
and a System Preliminary Design Review (SPDR). The subsequent two years were
fully devoted to the offer elaboration and successful negotiation of a global
contract covering development, production and initial in-service support for 20
systems (60 aircraft and 40 Ground Control Stations) with Airbus Defence and
Space GmbH as Prime Contractor and Airbus Defence and Space S.A.U, Leonardo and
Dassault as Major Sub-Contractors. This contract was signed on 24 February
2022.
Additionally in 2021, after the MALE RPAS programme
was awarded financial support from the European Commission in the frame of the
European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP), OCCAR negotiated and
signed with industrial partners a Grant Agreement.
After completion of the first development design
reviews, the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and the Critical Design Review
(CDR), the manufacture of the first Prototype is expected to commence in 2024
and the delivery of serial items to PPS is targeted by end of the decade.
European
MALE RPAS will be a key enabler for future operations ensuring to European
nations state of the art capabilities. It will be a key pillar in any FCAS to
improve the collaborative combat capabilities.
Image: AIRBUS
MALE RPAS Participating States
Observer: Japan
