Airbus’s Reusable Bird of Prey Drone Hunter Debuts at Farnborough Airshow

Airbus Bird of Prey Takes Centre Stage at Farnborough

Airbus Defence and Space brought its Bird of Prey counter-drone system to the Farnborough International Airshow this week, just four months after the prototype’s headline-making first flight. The rapid development cycle—from concept to successful intercept of a medium-sized kamikaze drone in only nine months—has matured into a refined operational concept that Airbus now positions as a reusable, multi-shot layer within NATO-integrated air defence.

The system itself is a modified Do-DT25 target drone, roughly three metres long with a 2.6-metre wingspan and a maximum take-off weight of 160 kg. It is catapult-launched, flies at high subsonic speed, and after engaging targets returns via parachute for quick rearming. In its March demonstration, it carried four Frankenburg Mark I missiles; the operational configuration targets up to eight of these lightweight, fire-and-forget interceptors, each with a fragmentation warhead effective to 1.5 km. This means a single Bird of Prey could neutralise multiple Shahed-style threats in one sortie at a fraction of the cost of traditional interceptors.

At Farnborough, Airbus emphasised seamless compatibility with its Integrated Battle Management System (IBMS), enabling the Bird of Prey to plug into existing NATO command-and-control networks as a mobile, complementary effector. This addresses a key vulnerability exposed in Ukraine, where daily barrages of one-way attack drones—often exceeding 100–200 launches—have strained high-value air defence missile stocks. By fielding a recoverable hunter that can engage, return, reload and redeploy, Airbus aims to invert the cost-exchange ratio that has favoured attackers.

Live-warhead testing continues through the rest of 2026, building on the March success. The Farnborough showcase also highlighted deepening ties with Estonian start-up Frankenburg Technologies, which is refining the Mark I missile family. Industry observers note the programme’s velocity: from concept to demonstrated intercept in nine months, and now to a public marketing push at one of the world’s largest airshows, all within a year.

Where the Bird of Prey Fits in the Counter-Drone Arms Race

The Economics of Drone Defence

The Bird of Prey’s central selling point is its ability to make shooting down cheap one-way attack drones economically sustainable. Traditional air defence systems often fire missiles costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat targets worth a few thousand. A reusable carrier equipped with multiple small, low-cost interceptors flips the equation: each engagement costs far less than a high-end SAM intercept, and the platform itself returns to fight again. Airbus executives at Farnborough called this a “new cost curve” that could give high-value missile inventories breathing room, reserving them for sophisticated cruise missiles and manned aircraft while the Bird of Prey handles the proliferating drone swarms.

European Sovereignty and NATO’s Layered Puzzle

Unlike many American counter-UAS solutions, the Bird of Prey is free of ITAR restrictions—a significant advantage for European nations seeking to strengthen defence-industrial autonomy. Built on proven Airbus airframe heritage and designed for interoperability with the company’s IBMS, it slots neatly into NATO architectures while appealing to buyers wary of export-control tangles. Airbus is positioning the system not as a replacement for existing air defences but as an additional layer that can be integrated with ground-based radars, directed-energy weapons and other effectors to create a more resilient shield.

Competitive Landscape and Remaining Hurdles

The counter-drone market is crowded. Anduril’s Roadrunner-M offers vertical launch, loiter and recovery; Lockheed Martin’s MORFIUS X-Rotor brings reusable high-power microwave effects; and Raytheon’s Coyote is already battle-proven within the US Army’s LIDS. Bird of Prey’s differentiation lies in its airborne, multi-shot reusability, European origin and focus on medium-altitude persistence. Yet significant questions remain: how it handles very small, agile quadcopters, whether reliable parachute recovery works in contested forward areas, and how much autonomy can be legally and ethically delegated to the system. Airbus’s live-fire campaign later this year will be critical in answering these questions and converting the system from a promising prototype into a programme of record.

What Defence Planners Should Watch as the System Moves Toward Operations

• For NATO defence ministries evaluating counter-UAS options: The Bird of Prey’s compatibility with Airbus’s IBMS and its ITAR-free design make it a strong candidate for allied air defence modernisation. Schedule a briefing with Airbus to review data from the ongoing live-warhead tests before year-end 2026.
• For European armed forces facing daily one-way attack drone threats: With a projected unit cost in the low millions of euros and the ability to carry up to eight Mark I missiles per sortie, the Bird of Prey could dramatically lower per-engagement costs compared to firing expensive SAMs. Include it in concept-of-operations studies alongside directed-energy and other kinetic options.
• For procurement authorities: Note that effective operation against small, highly manoeuvrable quadcopters and performance in heavy electronic-warfare environments has yet to be proven. Demand evidence from the upcoming live-fire campaign, and monitor how the system’s autonomy protocols align with evolving regulatory and ethical standards.