On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, the European company Airbus Helicopters (part of Airbus SE) announced that its subsidiary Survey Copter had been selected by the European Defence Agency (EDA) to carry out the M2UAS (Multi Mission Unmanned Aircraft System) project – the development of the hybrid Capa-X unmanned aerial vehicle toward greater multi-mission capability.
Grafika: Airbus Helicopters
This strategic contract is part of a series of projects lasting 48 months, with a total budget of approximately 1.1 million EUR. It includes research and development of a hybrid unmanned aircraft capable of performing various operational missions depending on its configuration and payload.
“We would like to thank the EDA for the trust it has placed in us. This selection is a major recognition of our expertise in tactical drone systems and reflects our commitment to supporting the development of innovative European defence capabilities,” said Christophe Canguilhem, Director of the Capa-X programme at Airbus Helicopters. “The characteristics of the Capa-X system make it particularly well suited to the M2UAS project, while offering a scalable operational solution that can be adapted to the needs of the armed forces,” he added.
Building on the Capa-X unmanned aerial system, the M2UAS project aims to strengthen and expand the capabilities of the existing platform. The first phase of the project, lasting 12 months, is dedicated to analyzing current and future military operational needs, assessing technological challenges, and defining the associated development directions. This work will help guide and optimize various technological choices, with the goal of increasing the versatility, performance, and multi-mission potential of the Capa-X platform.
Ultimately, the M2UAS project will contribute to defining new drone architectures capable of performing a wide range of missions, such as surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic warfare, the use of various types of effectors, and automatic aerial refueling, thereby strengthening European capabilities in the field of unmanned aerial systems.
Capa-X is a multi-mission unmanned aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 120 kg, offering a data-link operational range of up to 100 km, endurance of up to 10 hours, and a payload capacity of up to 20 kg. Its modular design allows it to be easily adapted to different missions, configurations, and regulatory constraints of public decision-makers, armed forces, as well as civilian and semi-public operators.
The M2UAS project aligns with the priorities of the European Defence Agency set out in the 2024 Priority Implementation Roadmaps, particularly regarding the development of next-generation multi-mission/reconfigurable unmanned aerial systems. The tender for the project was announced in August 2025.