Eurodrone: OCCAR hosts first Programme Board Meeting
Defense News ,Europe :- The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) recently convened the inaugural Programme Board meeting for the Medium Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (MALE RPAS), popularly known as the Eurodrone Programme. Senior representatives from the four participating nations – Germany, Italy, France, and Spain – participated in the event.
The meeting served as a platform for OCCAR, along with prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space and key industry partners such as Leonardo and Dassault Aviation, to showcase recent accomplishments and discuss upcoming initiatives. Notable advancements included progress in system development, covering aspects like requirement and design maturation, supplier selection, and validation processes through wind tunnel testing. The assembly of parts and bench test manufacturing were also highlighted as imminent activities in the project's timeline.
The Journey of MALE RPAS: From Concept to Reality
Initiated in 2016, the MALE RPAS Programme has reached critical milestones, starting with a Definition Study and culminating in a System Requirement Review (SRR) and a System Preliminary Design Review (SPDR) in 2018. The comprehensive contract finalized in February 2022 for the development, production, and initial in-service support of 20 systems marked a significant achievement, covering 60 aircraft and 40 Ground Control Stations. This contract places Airbus Defence and Space GmbH and its major subcontractors at the forefront of this groundbreaking endeavor.
In a noteworthy development in 2021, the program secured financial backing from the European Commission through the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP), facilitating a Grant Agreement with industrial partners.
With the completion of initial development design reviews, the project is poised to commence the manufacture of the first prototype in 2024, targeting the delivery of serial items by the end of the decade.
Eurodrone: A Pioneer in Unmanned Aerial Systems
Eurodrone, a twin-engine Large Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial System (LLUAS), represents a new class of Multi-Mission Unmanned Systems. With a maximum take-off weight of 12t (MTOW), 2.300 kg pure mission payload, and capabilities spanning Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW), Early Warning, Large Area-Surveillance, Fleet Protection, Protection of Critical Infrastructure, and SIGINT missions, this new generation RPAS will be certified to operate in non-segregated (civil) airspace.
Strengthening European Defence and Autonomy
The European MALE RPAS is poised to revolutionize Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, traditionally reliant on non-EU manufacturers. This initiative is a crucial step towards ensuring European strategic sovereignty and integrating cutting-edge technology into civil air traffic and non-segregated airspace.
As the first large-scale Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) program for European industries, MALE RPAS represents a significant leap forward in the field of Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR). It is designed to support international conflict prevention and crisis management across all operation phases, emphasizing its role as an indispensable asset for future military and peacekeeping efforts.
