European aerospace firm Airbus will unveil its latest drone wingman, the U760 Ravenstorm, at the International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) 2026 in Berlin. The wingman drone for fighter jets has been unveiled alongside a comprehensive suite of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS).<\/p>\n
The full suite unveiled by Airbus at the event includes the new autonomous aircraft, named U145, based on its popular H145 helicopter platform. U740 Valkyrie, developed in cooperation with Kratos, is another uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft (UCCA) announced by the company for the German Air Force.<\/p>\n
The company is showcasing other cargo drones ranging from 55 pounds (25 kilograms) to 264 pounds (120 kilograms) to provide customers with cutting-edge capabilities for surveillance, intelligence, and operational flexibility.<\/p>\n
Another offering is the U680 Bird of Prey, an uncrewed drone interceptor which is designed to counter mass aerial threats at once. The company says it can down multiple one-way attack drones per mission.<\/p>\n
Airbus\u2019 U760 Ravenstorm<\/p>\n
The U760 Ravenstorm drone from Airbus is designed to operate alongside cutting-edge crewed fighter jets. The missions it can carry out include air-to-air operations, air-to-ground strikes, and electronic warfare.<\/p>\n
The company will be displaying a 1:1 model of the uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft at the Berlin exhibition. The model on display has a 32-foot (10-meter) wingspan and a length of 42 feet (13 meters).<\/p>\n
According to a press release, the drone wingman is optimized for multi-domain missions, and it will carry precision-guided munitions for surface strikes, as well as anti-aircraft missiles for taking out enemy jets and other uncrewed aircraft. Moreover, the electronic warfare suite has the capability to suppress enemy air defenses and offensive counter-air using non-kinetic jamming.<\/p>\n
Airbus believes that Ravenstorm will be available in the early 2030s. It will be powered by MARS \u2013 the company\u2019s sovereign mission system, which integrates an AI-supported software core to enable platform autonomy.<\/p>\n
The system builds on the Barracuda demonstrator that flew for the first time 20 years ago.<\/p>\n
Eurodrone and the new \u2018U\u2019 prefix<\/p>\n
The company stated that, going forward, all its unmanned systems will be designated with the \u2018U\u2019 prefix. It should be noted that Airbus uses the \u2018A\u2019 prefix for all its crewed fixed-wing aircraft, while \u2018H\u2019 precedes all crewed helicopter systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever uncrewed or \u2018drone\u2019 capability our customers need to strengthen sovereign air power, we deliver,\u201d said Mike Schoellhorn<\/a>, CEO of Airbus Defense and Space. \u201cOur portfolio ranges from rapid-response drone interceptors and various tactical drones, autonomous cargo helicopters, to uncrewed fighter aircraft, UCCAs, operating co-operatively with crewed fighter jets.\u201d<\/p>\n