Airbus unveils expanded drone line-up at ILA Berlin

Airbus is using this year’s ILA Berlin air show to showcase a significantly expanded drone portfolio, led by the debut of the U145 uncrewed helicopter and reinforced by loyal Wingman and naval VSR700 concepts that signal a broader push into autonomous air systems.

U145 leads new generation of rotorcraft drones

The center of attention at ILA Berlin is the U145, an uncrewed derivative of the widely used H145 light helicopter that Airbus Helicopters is positioning for both military and civil missions. Publicly available information indicates that the aircraft has been revealed in full-scale mock-up form, highlighting the manufacturer’s ambition to scale drone capabilities up to helicopter size for heavy payload operations.

Reports describe the U145 as designed to retain the H145’s range and lift characteristics while incorporating autonomous flight systems, advanced sensors and mission management software optimized for uncrewed use. The aim is to offer greater endurance, payload capacity and operational flexibility than smaller rotary-wing drones, particularly for missions that require hovering, vertical lift and precise low-speed flight.

Airbus materials and specialist coverage indicate that the U145 is configured for roles such as logistics support, surveillance, border security and special operations support. The design is being promoted as a modular platform that can be tailored to individual customer needs, with space for electro-optical sensors, communications relay payloads and potentially armament for armed reconnaissance or close support missions.

The helicopter’s uncrewed architecture is also being framed as a step toward more complex manned-unmanned teaming concepts. By basing the drone on an existing, certified airframe, Airbus is seeking to shorten development timelines while leveraging an established support network already used by operators of the H145 family around the world.

Wingman concept anchors combat-drone ambitions

Alongside the U145, Airbus is giving renewed prominence at ILA Berlin to its Wingman concept, a fighter-type combat drone intended to operate in concert with crewed aircraft such as the Eurofighter. According to published coverage of earlier showings, the Wingman is displayed as a full-scale model featuring a stealthy, delta-wing configuration and internal weapons bays designed for air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions.

The Wingman is conceived to take on high-risk tasks like suppression of enemy air defenses, electronic warfare and stand-off strike, while being controlled by a pilot in a manned fighter. Publicly available technical descriptions emphasize flexible payloads, modular mission kits and the ability to operate either semi-autonomously or under tight human supervision, depending on mission rules and national regulations.

Industry analyses link the Wingman to broader European efforts to develop collaborative combat aircraft and “loyal wingman” systems that can extend the reach and survivability of existing fleets ahead of next-generation fighters entering service in the 2040s. Airbus is presenting the concept as a way to bridge that capability gap, while also building experience in artificial intelligence, secure data links and distributed sensor networks.

While the Wingman remains in the conceptual and demonstrator phase, its repeated appearance at ILA Berlin underscores Airbus’s intent to remain a central player in future air combat architectures. The system is being positioned to interface not only with Eurofighter but potentially with other platforms that form part of evolving European air-defense ecosystems.

VSR700 and naval drones highlight maritime focus

ILA Berlin is also serving as a showcase for Airbus’s naval drone ambitions, with the VSR700 unmanned helicopter taking a prominent role in the company’s display. Developed from the Guimbal Cabri G2 light helicopter, the VSR700 is designed to operate from ships as a multi-mission naval asset, offering long endurance and a relatively compact footprint for deck operations.

Open-source technical data describes the VSR700 as carrying surface-search radar, electro-optical sensors and, in some configurations, sonobuoys and anti-submarine warfare payloads. The drone is being marketed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, maritime security and anti-submarine tasks, and has already participated in at-sea trials with the French Navy that tested deck-landing systems and mission integration.

At ILA, Airbus is using the VSR700 to underline the company’s view that future naval operations will rely heavily on mixed fleets of crewed and uncrewed aircraft. Manned-unmanned teaming trials, highlighted in Airbus technical briefings, point toward operations in which shipborne helicopters and drones share sensor data, divide search areas and coordinate targeting, with uncrewed systems taking on the riskiest portions of missions.

The presence of both the VSR700 and U145 at Berlin illustrates a strategy that spans from compact shipborne drones to larger rotorcraft capable of carrying heavier loads. This spectrum is intended to appeal to navies and coast guards seeking to expand maritime surveillance without the cost and risk associated with deploying crewed aircraft on every sortie.

Acquisitions and teaming expand the ecosystem

Beyond individual platforms, Airbus is using the ILA setting to highlight how acquisitions and partnerships are broadening its drone ecosystem. The company’s purchase of Aerovel, maker of the Flexrotor small unmanned aircraft, is widely interpreted as a move to reinforce its offerings in long-endurance, small-class drones suitable for maritime and land surveillance, pipeline monitoring and border security.

Publicly available Airbus briefings emphasize that integrating smaller fixed-wing systems like Flexrotor with larger platforms such as the U145 and VSR700 will allow operators to design layered surveillance and response networks. In such architectures, compact drones can provide persistent overwatch, while helicopter-scale systems deliver heavy payloads, rapid insertion of equipment or precision resupply in difficult terrain or contested zones.

At the same time, Airbus is drawing attention to collaborations with missile-maker MBDA and other industry partners around “air-launched effects” and remote carriers. The U145, in particular, is presented as a potential mothership for smaller drones and loitering munitions, giving armed forces additional options for saturating defenses or extending sensor coverage while keeping crewed aircraft at lower risk.

Observers note that this approach mirrors a broader trend across the defense sector in Europe and beyond, where primes are seeking to offer not just single platforms but integrated families of systems that can share data and be tailored to national requirements. ILA Berlin, with its focus on both airpower and space, provides a high-profile venue for Airbus to demonstrate how its drone roadmap fits into this system-of-systems philosophy.

Positioning for civil, security and disaster-response markets

While much of the attention at ILA naturally falls on defense applications, Airbus is also signaling potential roles for its expanded drone line-up in civil security and disaster-response missions. Company information and trade-press reports highlight scenarios in which uncrewed helicopters like the U145 could support firefighting operations, carry sensors into hazardous environments or deliver relief supplies into areas cut off by floods, earthquakes or wildfires.

The ability to operate without onboard crew is being presented as a key advantage in such situations, reducing risk to personnel and enabling flights into smoke, contaminated air or conflict-adjacent regions where manned operations might be restricted. Rotorcraft drones can hover over hotspots, lower equipment on winches or deploy smaller sensor drones, complementing the fixed-wing uncrewed aircraft already used for wide-area mapping.

Border forces and law-enforcement agencies are another potential customer group being courted at ILA Berlin. Persistent surveillance, tracking of small boats, and monitoring of critical infrastructure are all cited in industry coverage as use cases where drone fleets could supplement existing helicopter and patrol-aircraft operations, particularly when budgets and staffing levels are under pressure.

By placing the U145, Wingman and VSR700 at the center of its ILA Berlin presence, Airbus is signaling that uncrewed systems are no longer a peripheral activity but a core pillar of its future strategy. The expanded portfolio on show in Berlin reflects a bet that demand for autonomous and remotely operated aircraft, across both defense and civilian markets, will accelerate in the decade ahead.