MBDA clears preliminary design review for Remote Carrier Compact drone

MBDA has finished the preliminary design review for its Remote Carrier Compact, a developmental drone meant to fly alongside crewed aircraft on a range of missions. France, Germany and Spain approved the review, the company said.

The work is a joint effort between MBDA, France and Germany, with Spain's Satnus cooperating. MBDA calls the result a new generation of collaborative combat drone, able to escort, conduct reconnaissance and strike high-value targets directly.

In images released by the company, the vehicle is launched from a warship. Its shape is comparable to that of a cruise missile. Four of the drones appear in a separate image flying with a tactical transport, apparently after launch from its ramp.

MBDA said reaching this stage meant completing the demonstrator's design, building several representative mock-ups and developing a digital twin of the effector. The progress rested on extensive ground testing, the company said, including subsystem tests, integration and structural integrity mock-ups, and wind tunnel work. Simulation was used to characterise the vehicle and validate digital models and initial algorithms, showing performance across a range of scenarios.

Demonstrations and reviews took place during the first half of 2026 with participants from the three nations. Feedback came from customers as well, among them air force pilots from France, Germany and Spain.

With the design review closed, MBDA says it will move toward a first flight of the demonstrator in 2029.

The Remote Carrier Compact was first conceived as an element of the Next Generation Weapon System, the core of the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System. That programme collapsed in June.