Eurodrone Lab Opens in Germany for Europe’s Multinational Drone Program

Germany, France, Italy, and Spain moved one step closer to operating a homegrown military drone system with the official opening of the new Eurodrone Lab in Manching, Germany.

The facility was inaugurated today with representatives from the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR).

At the new facility, all flight and ground systems of the Eurodrone will be thoroughly tested before being installed and deployed in the actual aircraft and ground control stations. All hardware and software will first be tested individually on computers, then connected, and finally run together in a full system integration test. The systems will receive flight clearance ahead of the Eurodrone’s first flight, which is planned to take place before the end of this decade.

The Eurodrone, officially known as a Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), is being designed for operations in civilian airspace. Its first flight is expected before the end of this decade, with entry into service scheduled shortly thereafter.

Each participating nation will receive one full system comprising three drones and two ground control stations. In total, 20 systems will be produced at Airbus’s final assembly line in Manching—60 aircraft and 40 ground stations.

The Eurodrone program is aimed at reducing European dependence on non-European drone manufacturers. Once operational, it will allow partner countries to conduct missions such as wide-area surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, signals intelligence, early warning, critical infrastructure protection, and both anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare.