Like an overachieving fledgling falcon, on its inaugural flight an Airbus “Fowl of Prey” interceptor drone took out a medium-sized suicide drone utilizing a Fraknkenberg Mark I mini-missile throughout an illustration on March 30, 2026 in northern Germany.
Based mostly on a modified Airbus Do-DT25 goal drone, the Fowl of Prey is not associated to the sooner Airbus concept of the same name. As an alternative, it is a utterly totally different plane made for a very totally different function.
This Fowl of Prey just isn’t a hybrid electrical passenger plane idea. It is a 10-ft (3-m) jet-powered drone with an 8-ft (2-m) wingspan, a takeoff weight of 352 lb (160 kg), and a high velocity of 300 knots (345 mph, 555 km/h). With the power to hold as much as eight Mark I fire-and-forget missiles constructed by Estonian startup Frankenberg Applied sciences, it is designed to intercept hostile drones far more cheaply than far more costly anti-aircraft/missile missile techniques.
Profitable first demo flight: Airbus’ uncrewed Fowl of Prey interceptor autonomously engages kamikaze drone with @FrankenburgTech missile.
The Airbus ‘Fowl of Prey’ is designed to seamlessly function inside NATO’s built-in air defence structure through established command and… pic.twitter.com/u3Yd5K9uSY
— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) March 30, 2026
Through the current demonstration check, the Fowl of Prey took off from a launch cradle, and as soon as within the air was capable of autonomously seek for, detect, and classify a goal drone standing in for a hostile. Closing weapon launch was executed on order of a human operator.
In response to Airbus, the Mark I is among the smallest interceptor missiles, with a size of solely 26 in (65 cm) and a weight of 4.4 lb (2 kg), together with the fragmentation warhead. With a high-subsonic velocity and a variety of 0.9 miles (1.5 km), it is made particularly for coping with the type of medium-sized suicide drones which have develop into so distinguished in current conflicts.
As well as, through the demo the system seamlessly built-in into NATO’s air protection structure, with command and management maintained by the Airbus Built-in Battle Administration System (IBMS).
Airbus
One other level of pleasure for Airbus is the truth that the mission took solely 9 months from conception to demonstration, which displays the urgency placed on growing new drone and anti-drone applied sciences. Additional check flights are scheduled for 2026 because it progressed in the direction of the aim of full operational functionality.
“Towards the present geopolitical and army backdrop, defending in opposition to kamikaze drones is a tactical precedence that urgently must be tackled,” mentioned Mike Schoellhorn, CEO Airbus Defence and House. “With our Fowl of Prey and Frankenburg’s inexpensive Mark I missiles, we’re offering armed forces with an efficient, cost-efficient interceptor, filling a vital functionality hole in at the moment’s uneven battle theaters. The combination of Fowl of Prey into Airbus’ air protection battle administration suite IBMS acts as a drive multiplier.”
Supply: Airbus
