Airbus Delivers VTOL Version of Aliaca Drone to French Navy

New Order for VTOL Drone Systems

Airbus Helicopters, through its subsidiary Survey Copter, has received an order from the DGA for a new version of the SMDM system ('Embedded Mini Aerial Drone Systems for the Navy'), now configured for vertical take-off and landing. The DGA has ordered a total of 34 Aliaca systems for the French Navy since 2022. Deliveries of this new version will begin in May 2026, following a qualification campaign.

Features and Testing of the Aliaca VTOL Drone

The Aliaca VTOL drone, unveiled in April 2025, was tested on land and at sea between late 2024 and 2025. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 25 kg, a wingspan of 3.5 m, and a length of 2.1 m. Its endurance is two hours with a range of 50 km. The system is equipped with a camera, a high-performance gyro-stabilized electro-optical/infrared system, and an automatic identification system capable of detecting a ship within a radius of several hundred kilometers. The new version will enter a qualification phase by the DGA in early 2026 for land and sea trials before operational declaration. The existing 'fixed-wing' SMDM version will continue to be implemented and maintained in operational condition for a period of at least seven years.

Operational Use and Future Prospects

Since its qualification and operational deployment in 2022, the SMDM has been equipping coastal patrol vessels (PHM and POM) and surveillance frigates of the French Navy. Since the summer of 2023, it has also been deployed from the French coasts for search and rescue missions in the English Channel. The VTOL version will be intended to equip other types of ships for missions including maintaining tactical situational awareness, combating illicit activities, monitoring traffic and coastal surveillance, search and rescue, and detecting suspicious behaviors. In the long term, the system is also expected to be operated from land to support the coastal surveillance network.