French aircraft company Aura Aero, which is developing the ERA electric hybrid regional aircraft, announced at the Paris Air Show it has launched a military drone program based on the ERA platform. The Enbata drone project targets Europe’s Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) requirement for a modular multi-mission drone at “controlled cost.”
Along with partners Safran, Thales, Aresia and others, Aura Aero plans for the Ebata drone to execute missions such as long-range strategic intelligence (ISR), armed reconnaissance, electronic warfare, maritime surveillance, communications relay and anti-drone defense. Aura Aero said, “With a maximum weight of two [metric] tons, Enbata can carry up to one ton of payload and has an autonomy of up to 55 hours.”
Gen Stephane Mille, former Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force, said at the Paris Air Show, “Operational requirements, optimization, low cost, sovereignty, innovation, and meeting deadlines: these terms are constantly heard in the Aura Aero workshops in Toulouse. By reusing the technological building blocks developed for its two programs that are shaping the future of aviation, Integral and ERA, [Aura Aero] is taking on a new challenge: to build a certified French MALE drone that will fly before the end of 2026 to meet the needs of the armed forces.”
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