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BERLIN—Airbus is giving a peek at its collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) plans beyond its partnership with Kratos, saying it plans to have an in-house developed system called the U760 Ravenstorm ready for delivery by 2032.
The system that Airbus is displaying at the ILA Berlin Air Show would be capable of air-to-air, air-to-ground and electronic warfare missions, the company said. It would have a maximum takeoff weight of about 6 metric tons, the ability to carry a payload of more than 500 kg (1,100 lb) and fly at a high-subsonic cruise speed.
Ravenstorm appears to be Airbus’ follow-on plan to what it now designates as the U740 Valkyrie, which it is working on with Kratos. The companies aim for the start of flight testing this year to be ready to address European requirements from 2029. Airbus and Kratos last year agreed on the acquisition of a pair of XQ-58A Valkyrie CCAs to evolve them for the European market.
Airbus for years has been toying with development of such a system. It built and flew the Barracuda uncrewed combat aircraft demonstrator more than two decades ago. In 2018, it floated a new concept that it called simply Wingman, which was supposed to be a partner for crewed combat aircraft.
Ravenstorm would have a 10-meter (32-ft.) wingspan and be 13 meters long, making it significantly larger than the Valkyrie. It features the typical low-observable shaping of most CCAs.
Unlike the U.S.-derived U740, Airbus bills the Ravenstorm as a “European sovereign solution.” That comes at a time when European governments have said they are keen to reduce their reliance on defense equipment from abroad. Airbus said the new design focuses on versatility, low risk and fast availability.
The system would feature Airbus’ Multiplatform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure (MARS) mission system, which incorporates AI-supported software known as Mindshare. “Its modularity will allow for the incremental addition of capabilities, expanding its scope into even more complex missions,” Airbus said.
Airbus is competing with companies such as Boeing, General Atomics, Helsing and Rheinmetall to win orders in the nascent CCA market in Europe.
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