Eurodrone program bags fresh round of EU subsidies

MILAN — The European Commission is poised to jolt the Eurodrone program by injecting a second round of funding into the project to allow for the development of new capabilities.

On March 15, the European Commission, responsible for promoting cooperation and facilitating the integration of defense capabilities between EU member-states, published its 2024 call for proposals .

Among the 30 different project requests outlined in the document, one stands out as having the largest budget up for grabs: the development of a fully European medium-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft system.

The request, for which 100 million euros ($108 million) is allocated, pertains specifically to the ongoing Eurodrone program, according to a Commission representative.

“The Commission is not planning to support the development of another European MALE drone – the call for proposals in the EDF annual Work Programme 2024 aims at developing additional capabilities for the actual Eurodrone, expected to fly before the end of this decade,” a Commission spokesperson told Defense News.

According to the document, the primary objective behind having a European-made MALE RPAS is to move away from foreign suppliers when it comes to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

“Today, most of the ISR capabilities of member states rely on non-EU manufacturers in order to carry out their missions … the development of a fully European MALE RPAS is key to reduce dependency on non-EU solutions,” the document said.

The Eurodrone program, which began in 2015, received $107 million in funding from the EU-run European Defense Industrial Development Program in 2021.

The effort involves four governments – Italy, Spain, Germany and France – as well as three contractors, Leonardo, Dassault Aviation, and Airbus Defence and Space.

According to a recent report released by the German Ministry of Defense, the Eurodrone program experienced some setbacks in 2023 that may delay key deliverables

A preliminary design review, one such milestone, was initially slated to be carried out last September, but is still being reviewed due to coordination issues between Airbus and Dassault, the document said. The delay may affect the subsequent critical design review of the platform that was planned for September 2024, a necessary step before companies can start building the first drone.

It remains to be seen if the first flight of the European MALE drone will take place as scheduled in January 2027.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——欧盟委员会准备向欧洲无人机计划注入第二轮资金，以推动该计划的新功能开发，从而给该计划注入活力。

3月15日，负责促进欧盟成员国之间防务能力合作和一体化的欧盟委员会发布了2024年提案征集公告。

在该文件列出的 30 个不同的项目请求中，有一个项目因其可获得的预算最大而脱颖而出：开发完全欧洲化的中空长航时遥控驾驶飞机系统。

据欧盟委员会代表称，该项拨款申请（金额为 1 亿欧元，约合 1.08 亿美元）专门用于正在进行的欧洲无人机计划。

“欧盟委员会不打算支持开发另一款欧洲中空长航时无人机——2024 年欧洲防务基金年度工作计划中的提案征集旨在为即将于本十年末试飞的欧洲无人机开发更多功能，”欧盟委员会发言人告诉《防务新闻》。

根据该文件，拥有欧洲制造的中空长航时无人机的主要目的是为了在情报、监视和侦察 (ISR) 任务方面摆脱对外国供应商的依赖。

“如今，大多数成员国的情报、监视与侦察 (ISR) 能力都依赖于非欧盟制造商来执行任务……开发完全欧洲制造的中空长航时无人机系统 (MALE RPAS) 是减少对非欧盟解决方案依赖的关键，”该文件指出。

欧洲无人机计划于 2015 年启动，2021 年从欧盟运营的欧洲国防工业发展计划获得了 1.07 亿美元的资金。

这项计划涉及四个政府——意大利、西班牙、德国和法国——以及三家承包商：莱昂纳多、达索航空和空中客车防务与航天公司。

根据德国国防部最近发布的一份报告，欧洲无人机项目在2023年遭遇了一些挫折，这可能会推迟关键交付成果。

文件显示，初步设计评审是该项目的一项重要里程碑，原计划于去年9月进行，但由于空客和达索之间的协调问题，目前仍在进行中。此次延误可能会影响原定于2024年9月进行的平台关键设计评审，而这是企业开始建造首架无人机的必要步骤。

欧洲中空长航时无人机的首次飞行能否按计划于 2027 年 1 月进行，还有待观察。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。