MALE drone Enbata: Thales to supply radar and electronic warfare for Aura Aero

Thales and Aura Aero, two French companies, have announced that they will cooperate on Aura Aero’s MALE drone Enbata – a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone. The project is backed by France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces and its procurement agency (DGA). The aim is a drone with which the French Armed Forces can conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

The cooperation already has first results to show, even though the market launch of the Enbata was only officially announced recently: Thales is contributing the Air Master C airborne surveillance radar as well as electronic warfare solutions – both have been selected for the drone. The Enbata is designed as a cost-efficient multi-role platform combining fly-by-wire flight control with an open architecture, into which a wide variety of payloads can be integrated.

AI radar for the MALE drone

The AirMaster C was chosen for its performance and compact design, which make it ideal for the Enbata. The French-developed, next-generation airborne radar combines a compact AESA (active electronically scanned array) architecture with built-in artificial intelligence (AI). Targets can thus be classified precisely and autonomously and relevant objects detected more easily – and less data volume has to be sent to the ground stations.

With this partnership, Thales once again demonstrates its ability to equip drones with combat-proven, next-generation electronic warfare and radar solutions developed entirely in France, while using artificial intelligence to further enhance operational capabilities— Marie Gayrel, Vice President Intelligence, Surveillance and Counter-Intelligence at Thales

In combination with the electronic warfare equipment, the radar is intended to make the drone flexible for complex operational environments and combat scenarios. A broad spectrum of military operations is envisaged: armed reconnaissance, long-range reconnaissance, maritime surveillance, electronic warfare and counter-UAS.

Its first flight, planned for 2026, is regarded as an important milestone. The first integration of the Thales equipment is then to take place by 2027.

Stéphane Mille, who heads the defence business at Aura Aero, expressed his conviction about the combination:

By combining Aura Aero’s Enbata MALE drone with Thales’ radar and electronic warfare capabilities, we are offering the armed forces a sovereign, high-performance and scalable ISR solution. This combination of a next-generation air platform and advanced sensors acts as a true force multiplier, increasing operational effectiveness and meeting the requirements of current and future missions.— Stéphane Mille, Director of Defence at Aura Aero