First flight of uncrewed air vehicle is targeted for later this year in line with French DGA schedule.
French manufacturer Aura Aero says it remains on track to achieve a first flight this year of the Enbata medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) drone it is building for its home nation.
A 2,000kg (4,400lb) maximum take-off weight uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV), the Enbata has been developed under a demonstrator contract from France’s DGA defence procurement agency.
Under that arrangement, Aura, plus the four other firms selected, must fly their MALE prototypes this year.
Aura chief executive Jeremy Caussade says the company has commenced assembly of the Enbata – named after a Basque word for a summer storm – at its Toulouse Francazal airport site.
“We are building the prototype – it is progressing well,” he says. Aura intends to display the prototype at June’s Eurosatory defence show in Paris.
France currently operates a fleet of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reapers in the MALE role and had intended their long-term replacement to be the multinational Eurodrone.
However, Paris has recently signalled its plans to leave that programme in favour of a domestically developed capability.
While no formal French requirement for a MALE UAV currently exists, Caussade thinks the current demonstration phase will inform any future procurement.
“We are in the first stage,” he says. “We have to fly a MALE drone during 2026 and the aim is to move forward. We are working right now [to understand] what that move forward means.”
Providing a development programme emerges, Caussade says the Enbata will be ready for service entry in 2028.
But regardless of France’s continued participation in the Eurodrone programme Aura’s goal remains the same, he says. “Being with or without the Eurodrone doesn’t really change what we have to do.”
Power comes from a single 230-260shp (170-190kW) heavy fuel engine supplied by SMA, which should enable the Enbata to achieve endurance of around 50h with a 1,000kg payload.
Partners on the programme include Thales, which is contributing to the development of the flight-control system, plus sensor supplier Safran Electronics & Defence. French firms Soben and Merio will provide the landing gear and payload gimbal, respectively.
Should armaments later be required, the lightweight version of Safran’s AASM munition or guided rockets from Thales unit FN Herstal could be possibilities, he notes.
Although France is the initial focus for the development, Caussade says he wants to build a Europe-wide supply chain and customer base for the platform, which will be free from US export restrictions.
“We started with French suppliers but right now we are discussing with other potential partners,” he adds.
Once the demonstration flight for the DGA is complete – likely to be performed from an airfield in the west of France – Aura will continue development tests on the platform, gradually expanding its envelope and endurance.
It will also trial the Enbata’s beyond visual-line-of-sight performance and work on the integration of “things below the wing”. Aura’s design allows for a payload of 340kg under each wing, Caussade adds.
“We will begin with the DGA, we do our homework and move from there.”
Critically, Aura also intends for it to be a civil certificated platform, opening the door to non-military uses such as customs or border surveillance missions.
Part of Aura’s strategy is to leverage its other development programmes, such as the hybrid-electric ERA regional aircraft and Integral trainer, to derisk work on the Enbata.
“We are using a lot of the know-how we developed for the 19-seater, associated with the production capability on the two-seater.”
For example, the Enbata’s wing uses the same carbonfibre production system as the ERA, alongside identical flight-control computers and “the way we get the architecture of the systems overall”.
Critically, Aura sees the DGA programme as an opportunity for it to demonstrate its industrial capabilities alongside the delivery of a flying demonstrator, adds chief of staff Antoine Blin.
Other participants in the French project include Turgis & Gaillard, Daher Aircraft, SE Aviation, and Fly-R.
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