The French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) has ordered the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) variant of the Airbus U010 Aliaca drone, converting the final seven systems of an existing 34-system contract to the new configuration.

Announced by Airbus on October 29, 2026, the shift to a VTOL platform eliminates the need for catapult launches and net recoveries. This capability allows the French Navy to deploy the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) drones on smaller secondary vessels and operate them in rougher sea conditions.

Advertisement

Operational expansion and technical specifications

The French Navy first operated the fixed-wing Aliaca on an offshore patrol vessel in 2019. The original system required a catapult for launch and an automated net for recovery. While effective, this infrastructure limited the types of vessels that could host the drone and restricted operations in heavy seas.

According to French Navy officials, the VTOL capability significantly expands deployment options. Pre-flight preparation takes only a few minutes, and the drone can launch in sea conditions that would have previously prevented a safe net recovery.

Maxime Caille, Director of the U010 Aliaca programme at Airbus Helicopters, noted that adding vertical lift to the existing drone required a new wing design and modified fuselage. The VTOL variant retains the same core autopilot and data link components as the fixed-wing model.

The U010 Aliaca VTOL has a maximum take-off weight of 25 kilograms, a wingspan of 3.6 meters, and a length of 2.2 meters. The 100% electric version offers up to three hours of endurance and a 50-kilometer data link range. A hybrid variant extends endurance to six hours and the operational radius to 100 kilometers. Both versions carry a gyro-stabilized electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor turret with a 30x optical zoom and an Automatic Identification System (AIS) for tracking maritime vessels.

Deployment timeline and fleet integration

Following a trial period conducted between 2024 and 2025, the DGA requested that the final seven systems of the original 34-system order be delivered in the VTOL configuration. Airbus has already delivered 27 fixed-wing systems to the DGA.

Deployment of the VTOL variant will begin on French Navy Metropolitan Support and Assistance Vessels (BSAMs) in late 2026. In 2027, the systems will roll out to Overseas Support and Assistance Vessels (BSAOMs).

The French Navy utilizes the U010 Aliaca, designated as the SMDM in military service, for gathering real-time intelligence during maritime security missions, combating illegal fishing, and monitoring trafficking. Real-time video feeds allow operations rooms to vector interception craft and evaluate target threats.

Airbus UAS consolidation and programme background

The Aliaca drone was originally designed by Survey Copter, a French light tactical drone manufacturer that Airbus acquired in 2011. In October 2025, Airbus Helicopters formally took over the management of Survey Copter’s uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) programs, including the Aliaca and Capa-X lines, to streamline the company’s aerospace offerings.

The U010 Aliaca is a Category 2 tactical UAS certified to SAIL III standards under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) methodology.

In early October 2026, Airbus demonstrated the platform’s interoperability during the MDays event. The company executed a collaborative crewed-uncrewed teaming scenario featuring the U010 Aliaca, the U030 Flexrotor, and an Airbus H130 helicopter operating in real-world conditions.

AirPro News analysis

The DGA’s decision to convert the remainder of its Aliaca order to the VTOL configuration highlights a broader naval shift away from catapult-and-net recovery systems. While fixed-wing drones offer superior endurance and range, the deck space and structural requirements for launch and recovery equipment restrict them to larger surface combatants. By integrating vertical lift capabilities into a fixed-wing airframe, Airbus provides the French Navy with the endurance necessary for extended maritime patrol while enabling operations from secondary support vessels. We expect this hybrid aerodynamic approach to become the baseline requirement for future shipborne tactical UAS procurements.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has opened a new Remote Split Operation (RSO) facility near Grand Forks, North Dakota, relocating MQ-9A Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) flight crews from Africa to the continental United States.

The facility, officially opened during an October 30, 2026, ribbon-cutting ceremony, will support U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) missions under a Contractor-Owned, Contractor-Operated (COCO) lease. According to a company press release, the transition to stateside operations is projected to save the U.S. Department of Defense more than $10 million annually while reducing the overseas footprint of contractor personnel.

Advertisement

Transitioning to domestic remote operations

The RSO model allows the physical aircraft to remain deployed in foreign theaters while the flight crews operate the platforms from domestic control stations. This operational shift minimizes the risk to personnel deployed overseas and significantly lowers the logistical costs associated with maintaining forward-deployed crews.

GA-ASI Chief Executive Officer Linden Blue highlighted the dual benefits of the new North Dakota facility during the opening event.

“We’re excited to establish this new facility in North Dakota. Setting up our remote flight operations here in North Dakota will allow us to decrease the number of personnel required overseas, significantly reducing the cost of the COCO to the U.S. government and, more importantly, significantly increase the safety for our personnel. It will also bring approximately 50 well-paying jobs to the Grand Forks community.”

The U.S. military utilizes COCO leases to augment its organic fleet capabilities. Under this arrangement, contractor pilots operate the aircraft on behalf of combatant commands, providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data directly to military end-users.

U.S. Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), who worked through the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee to facilitate the project, emphasized the financial and strategic advantages of the relocation.

“General Atomics is moving pilots from Africa to Grand Forks to remotely fly their missions for AFRICOM. Doing so makes perfect sense, and that’s why we worked through the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee to make it happen. This new facility is not only a real cost savings for AFRICOM, which will save more than $10 million per year as pilots operate from Grand Forks rather than overseas, but it also brings a broader intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance portfolio to our state.”

A decade of expansion at the Grand Forks flight center

The new RSO facility is located at GA-ASI’s Flight Test & Training Center (FTTC), situated within the GrandSky UAS Business Park adjacent to Grand Forks Air Force Base. The FTTC began operations on July 18, 2016, established to provide the manufacturer with dedicated airspace and facilities for flight testing, aircraft maintenance, and aircrew training.

The addition of active AFRICOM mission support builds on the company’s extensive history with uncrewed platforms. GA-ASI’s Predator line of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) has been in operation for 30 years, accumulating more than 9 million total flight hours across various military and government operators.

The MQ-9A Reaper, the primary aircraft supported by the new RSO facility, is a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) remotely piloted aircraft designed for persistent surveillance and strike capabilities. By operating the MQ-9A from the North Dakota facility, GA-ASI integrates active combatant command support into a site previously focused primarily on testing and training.

AirPro News analysis

The expansion of Remote Split Operations for COCO leases represents a maturation of how the U.S. Department of Defense procures and manages uncrewed intelligence gathering. By decoupling the aircrew from the physical aircraft deployment, combatant commands like AFRICOM can maintain persistent surveillance coverage over vast geographic areas without the political and logistical friction of expanding overseas troop or contractor footprints. This model effectively treats uncrewed aerial surveillance as a managed service, shifting the burden of personnel security and basing infrastructure back to the manufacturer’s domestic facilities.

Saab AB and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) have successfully flight-tested an unmanned airborne early warning capability by integrating the Saab LoyalEye radar onto an MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft system. The October 28, 2026 announcement validates the system’s ability to detect, track, and classify airborne targets during a representative operational scenario.

The milestone, detailed in a joint press release, demonstrates the viability of conducting persistent surveillance missions without exposing human aircrews to high-risk environments. The integrated platform is designed to operate either independently or in coordination with manned Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft.

Advertisement

Validating unmanned early warning capabilities

The flight test took place at GA-ASI’s Desert Horizon Flight Operations Facility in Southern California. During the flight, the MQ-9B utilized the LoyalEye radar to perform airborne early warning (AEW) tasks traditionally reserved for manned aircraft. The system successfully demonstrated its capacity to manage airborne targets in a realistic operational environment, proving the concept of unmanned persistent surveillance.

“This flight test marks an important milestone in the development of unmanned airborne early warning capabilities,” said Carl-Johan Bergholm, Head of Saab’s business area Surveillance. “LoyalEye is designed to complement existing AEW&C solutions by providing additional flexibility and persistence, and today’s flight validates the capability in a representative operational scenario.”

David R. Alexander, President of GA-ASI, noted the strong market demand for the integrated system among global operators.

“This has been one of the most highly anticipated flight tests we have performed,” Alexander said. “The level of customer interest in AEW capability on MQ-9B throughout the world is extremely high. It just makes sense.”

The path to the LoyalEye and MQ-9B integration

The successful demonstration follows a multi-year development timeline. Saab and GA-ASI initially announced their partnership to develop an Unmanned Airborne Early Warning (UAEW) solution in 2025. The program advanced to the flight testing stage on May 19, 2026, when the LoyalEye radar sensor completed its first flight on an unmanned aircraft at the Desert Horizon facility. That initial flight marked the beginning of a multi-month evaluation phase that culminated in the October 28, 2026 validation flight.

Saab AB, a Swedish aerospace and defense company employing approximately 31,000 people, designs and manufactures advanced systems across aeronautics, weapons, command and control, sensors, and underwater systems. GA-ASI specializes in the manufacture of remotely piloted aircraft systems, radars, and electro-optic mission systems.

Unmanned AEW capabilities are engineered to surveil large geographic areas, providing persistent coverage in operating environments where endurance and geographic reach are critical. The LoyalEye system is specifically intended to complement existing manned AEW&C solutions, such as the Saab GlobalEye, by adding operational flexibility and persistence to a military’s sensor network.

AirPro News analysis

The integration of AEW capabilities onto a Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) unmanned platform like the MQ-9B represents a structural shift in how Air Forces can deploy surveillance assets. Manned AEW&C platforms are high-value, low-density assets that are expensive to operate and vulnerable in contested airspace. By offloading routine or highly persistent radar coverage to an unmanned system, operators can preserve manned assets for complex battle management tasks. We expect this capability to generate significant interest among nations that already operate the MQ-9B or are looking to expand their maritime and border surveillance networks without the procurement costs of a dedicated manned AEW fleet.