TLDR
- Airbus, through subsidiary Survey Copter, has been selected by the European Defence Agency for the M2UAS drone project.
- The contract runs 48 months with a total budget of approximately €1.1 million.
- The project aims to expand the capabilities of Airbus’s existing CAPA-X drone platform.
- The first 12-month phase will focus on analysing military needs and identifying development avenues.
- The CAPA-X drone weighs 120 kg, has a 100 km data link range, and can carry up to 20 kg of payload.
Airbus’s Survey Copter subsidiary has secured a new contract with the European Defence Agency to develop an expanded version of its CAPA-X drone system.
Airbus selected by the European Defence Agency to expand the capabilities of its Capa-X drone
Read the press release: https://t.co/T2SlELXs0I pic.twitter.com/4AlqhlLj4T— Airbus Newsroom (@AirbusPRESS) March 4, 2026
The contract falls under the Multi Mission Unmanned Aircraft System project, known as M2UAS. It is part of a broader series of projects and runs for 48 months, with a total budget of around €1.1 million.
The CAPA-X is already an established platform. It weighs 120 kg, carries payloads of up to 20 kg, has a data link range of 100 km, and can fly for up to 10 hours.
Its modular design is built to be adapted across different missions, users, and regulatory environments — covering everything from military to civil operations.
The M2UAS project builds on that existing foundation. The goal is to push the platform further, making it more versatile across a wider range of operational missions.
Those missions could include surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic warfare, aerial effects deployment, and even automated in-flight refueling.
The project kicks off with a 12-month analysis phase. During this period, the team will assess current and future military needs, map out technological challenges, and identify development paths.
That groundwork will then shape the technological choices made in later phases of the project.
What the EDA Contract Covers
Christophe Canguilhem, Director of the CAPA-X programme at Airbus Helicopters, said the platform’s characteristics make it “particularly well suited” to the M2UAS project.
He described the system as offering a “scalable operational solution” that can be tailored to the needs of armed forces.
The EDA’s selection is framed by Airbus as recognition of Survey Copter’s expertise in tactical drone systems.
Survey Copter is a subsidiary of Airbus Helicopters, which is itself part of the wider Airbus group.
Drone Architecture Goals
Longer term, the M2UAS project is aimed at defining new drone architectures — not just upgrading the existing CAPA-X, but contributing to a broader framework for how unmanned systems are designed and deployed.
The project intends to strengthen European capabilities in the uncrewed aerial systems space.
Airbus’s stock trades on the Paris stock exchange under the ticker AIR and was up 1.19% at the time the announcement was made.
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