Airbus tests synthetic aircraft simulation in German Air Force exercise

Airbus said it connected its System Development Lab to a live training environment during the German Air Force's Timber Express exercise in summer 2026, inserting simulated aircraft and threats alongside real Eurofighter and Tornado crews.

The annual exercise is designed to test how participating units and weapon systems share tactical data in real time. Previous editions have included other branches of the German armed forces along with NATO members and partner nations, according to Airbus.

A company representative, René Birkholz, described the lab as a tool that blends simulated assets into live scenarios. He said the method can lower the cost of populating airspace with aircraft, allows testing of systems that do not yet exist, and helps keep sensitive tactics from public exposure.

One system referenced in the exercise was an uncrewed combat aircraft still in development. Airbus said its U740 Valkyrie, unveiled at ILA Berlin in June 2026, is meant to give Germany a domestically controlled uncrewed combat aircraft by 2029.

Airbus said it intends to keep using the simulation lab throughout the development of future weapon systems, running automated simulations to compare design options before configurations are finalized.

The trial is linked to a wider German effort to link Eurofighter jets with uncrewed aircraft. Germany is preparing a competition for uncrewed "fighter-bomber" aircraft meant to fly alongside its fighter fleet, with initial capability targeted for 2029. The German Air Force's chief, Lieutenant General Holger Neumann, has said networking aircraft, uncrewed systems and sensors will be central to future air power. France, separately, is pursuing its own related effort.