Drone start-up Hydra Drones: MBDA takes a minority stake

The European defence group MBDA has taken a minority stake in British drone start-up Hydra Drones with a six-figure investment. The company has developed the Hydra 400, a heavy-lift transport drone that, in the words of its founder, is to put “the firepower of an Apache attack helicopter into the boot of an off-road vehicle”.

The modular drone is powered by rotors and up to six auxiliary engines and has a payload of up to 400 kilograms. It can carry Brimstone missiles, heavy machine guns or supplies; even casualty evacuation is conceivable in future. Fully loaded, it flies for around 25 minutes. Range and armament allow precision strikes on targets up to 30 kilometres away.

As the British Telegraph currently reports, the British Army has been working with Hydra since 2021. The system was also shown at the DSEI 2023 defence exhibition in London, and a simpler version has already been tested. A complete prototype is due later this year, probably in September, followed by further trials.

Hydra CEO Tom O’Connor, himself a former army aircraft technician, sees the drone as a complement to crewed platforms: “Five Hydra drones together match the firepower of an Apache. This spares lives and uses resources more efficiently.” The platform is low-cost, scalable and partly expendable, O’Connor stressed.

What makes the drone start-up attractive to investors

In addition to MBDA – a joint venture of BAE Systems, Airbus and Leonardo – Hydra has already raised a good one million euros from private investors. MBDA's move reflects growing investment in heavy-lift drones, seen as a low-cost alternative to helicopters. Many helicopter missions today involve payloads below 500 kilograms, making this an ideal market for new unmanned systems.