The French defense procurement agency (DGA) has amended its contract with Airbus Helicopters to upgrade the navy’s drone capability, ordering a new vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) version of the Aliaca uncrewed aerial system. This evolution of the existing SMDM (“Onboard Mini Aerial Drone Systems for the Navy”) program will see the delivery of 34 total systems to the French Navy, with the first VTOL models set for delivery starting in May 2026 following qualification.
Christophe Canguilhem, Aliaca programme director at Airbus Helicopters, stated, “We are proud to be able to deliver the VTOL version of the Aliaca to the French Navy for the first time… With the VTOL version, the French Navy will be able to operate the Aliaca with even more flexibility.”
The Aliaca VTOL, unveiled in April 2025 and developed in under a year, represents a significant operational upgrade. It retains the proven fixed-wing architecture for endurance but integrates four propellers for vertical launch and recovery. This eliminates the need for separate launch-and-recovery systems, allowing for faster deployment and a reduced logistical footprint from a wider variety of ships. The drone maintains a two-hour endurance, a 50 km range, and is equipped with electro-optical/infrared sensors and an Automatic Identification System for maritime surveillance.
Since becoming operational in 2022, the fixed-wing Aliaca has served as a “remote binoculars” for the French Navy aboard patrol vessels and frigates, also supporting search and rescue missions in the English Channel. The new VTOL variant is intended to extend this capability to additional vessel types, enhancing missions like tactical surveillance, anti-illegal activity patrols, and search and rescue. The French Navy will operate both the new VTOL and the legacy fixed-wing versions concurrently for at least seven years.
Following successful land and sea trials in 2024 and 2025, the VTOL SMDM will enter its formal DGA qualification phase in early 2026. Airbus highlights that this contract amendment signals the maturity of the VTOL solution for the global market.
