Forum Munich Aerospace – Target Drones of Airbus

For over 20 years, Airbus DS, Target Systems and Services has been operating UAS as training targets for air defence exercises. In a constant thrive to increase realism in terms of signature and performance, flight envelopes have been pushed to 5-digit altitudes and the transonic regime – while maintaining cost-effectiveness. Recently, additional operational fields have been added, in order to utilize the available UAS and operational experience for demonstration projects.

The presentation introduces the current portfolio of target display drones from Airbus DS. It provides an overview of the development history of target presentation drones, discusses examples of technical challenges and lessons learned. It also presents projects in which the drones were used as platforms for technology demonstrations, such as AutoMate and UAV Launcher.

Finally, the challenges of transitioning them as tactical systems are outlined.