Europe’s complex weapons builder MBDA is showcasing a new long-range one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) – a self-funded project – at the Paris Air Show this week.
The concept meets an emerging requirement in the French Armed Forces for conventional mass effect, meeting the trend towards high intensity warfare. This type of conflict is playing out in the Russia-Ukraine war where drones kill more people than conventional artillery.
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Shaped in this backdrop, the new effector is designed for high-volume production. MBDA will collaborate with an unnamed French automotive company to enable on-demand and low-cost mass production of the system at a rate of up to 1,000 units per month. The wings are also based on a pre-existing design from an unspecified UAV manufacturer.
At present, however, the concept is confined to the development stage. However, Airforce Technology learned that even though the capability first emerged in December 2024, a demonstrator is anticipated for the autumn of 2025, with the first batch expected for delivery sometime in 2027.
Armed with a 40-kilogramme warhead, reaching speeds of up to 400 kilometres an hour, reaching a range of up to 500 kilometres, the drone-munition operates in a salvo of around a dozen systems to overwhelm enemy air defences.
Due to the size of the warhead, one MBDA spokesperson noted, this is a missile that the enemy must intercept due to the destructive effect which will also complicate adversarial targetting processes at the same time.
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By GlobalData
Mass effect
Currently, Russia’s arms production is four times’ that of Europe collectively.
The UK recently announced some strides in ammunition production with an “always-on” approach, while the EU Commission aim to produce two million shells by the end of this year.
Conventional artillery will always be needed, but UAVs offer a more precise, deep strike effect. This is the grounding for a new formation as far as the British Army are concerned, as they pursue a new approach in the Strategic Defence Review:
“20% crewed platforms to control 40% ‘reusable’ platforms (such as drones that survive repeated missions), and 40% ‘consumables’ such as rockets, shells, missiles, and ‘one-way effector’ drones.”
Meanwhile, France’s forces are also looking to improve the integration of drones at the tactical level, much like the United States’s efforts, but the country does not appear to have a comprehensive strategic plan for how to deploy these disposable UAVs in the same way as the UK.
