After years of twists and turns on the road to a pan-European UAV, industry’s joint call for a sovereign capability has found consensus in France, Germany and Italy.
The signing of a declaration of intent May 18 in Brussels by defense ministers from all three countries for a two-year-long definition study for a European-built medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV is a major step forward for the project, which has roots going back a decade.
European industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on UAV technology, with individual nations pursuing projects on their own or through failed bilateral programs, but there has been little to show for the effort, with few ever reaching maturity, much less operational service.
Instead, Europe’s UAV needs in recent years have been driven by economics and urgency. The conflict in Afghanistan largely shaped Europe’s requirements, pushing France and Germany toward an Israeli solution, while the U.K.’s special relationship with the U.S. resulted in its partnering on the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper. That move was later followed by Italy, France and more recently the Netherlands.
European industry has long been frustrated by national governments looking to Israel and the U.S. to meet their UAV needs, and it has only been with combined pressure thatAirbus Defense & Space, Dassault Aviation and Finmeccanica have finally made their voices heard, having submitted their MALE 2020 plans to governments last spring.
A joint statement released by the three companies states that the push for the MALE 2020 program was a “joint call” for the sustainment of key capabilities in “light of an increasing dependency of European states on non-European defense equipment and technology.”
Contracts for the two-year definition study are likely to be finalized toward year-end, with each nation putting €20 million ($22 million) into the program, addressing issues with customer nations in areas of competitiveness, sovereignty, growth potential, compliance with joint requirements and certification. The three companies say this approach is the best way to eliminate significant financial or developmental risk.
The governments want to be able to make a go/no-go decision by the end of 2017 so they can put their systems in service in the early or mid-2020s.
Some analysts suggest that full development is likely to cost €1 billion, but some of the cost could be offset if more countries join the partnership. Spain and Poland—both looking to create a MALE UAV capability for their armed forces—are seen as potentially interested in joining the MALE 2020 project.
Airbus Defense & Space will act as the program lead, leveraging its hard-earned experience from Talarion and Barracuda development.
Dassault’s design for the MALE 2020 looks rather like an enlarged MQ-9 Reaper. Actual designs are unlikely to emerge before 2017. Credit: Dassault Aviation

For Germany, which once considered the U.S.-built Reaper for its MALE requirements, it seems the European option is now the only politically acceptable route, especially after the Merkel government’s run-ins with the U.S. administration over the National Security Agency’s spying on German ministers.
“We chose a European project because we want to keep control of the technology and our own data,” German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told the German newspaperBild in March. “We do not want to be dependent on anyone on this point. This is a lesson from the NSA debate.”
Germany has also been one of the first to suggest that the platform could be armed, albeit only after parliamentary approvals. Another key system goal will be the ability to conduct flight operations in European airspace, allowing it to be used for security and civil protection missions.
The new platform is unlikely to have much of an impact on the plans of those nations that have already invested in the Reaper. The U.K., Italy and France have established a Reaper users group along with the U.S.; the group met for the first time in Paris in January. France has taken delivery of its third MQ-9 and looks set to buy another three this year. After recently firming up orders for additional Raytheon-produced electro-optical cameras, even more of the Reapers will be joining the French air force in short order.
The Reaper-operating nations are troubled by the fact that European airspace regulations prevent them from flying their Reapers at home. Italy is an exception to this, and the Netherlands is studying the option of flying its Reapers in Italy for training when it takes delivery in 2016. Spain is also being offered the Reaper: General Atomics is tying up with domestic engineering company Sener to offer the platform there.
While the U.K. retained its Reapers after the conflict in Afghanistan, it still has a requirement for a MALE platform for its Scavenger program. But with the ending of the bilateral discussions with France for a MALE system, the two countries are now focused on an unmanned Future Combat Air System, so it is possible that the U.K. could consider a joint European solution in the future as well.