On Tuesday, 2 December 2025, the French company Daher Group carried out the maiden flight of the EyePulse prototype, a MALE-class (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) unmanned aerial vehicle developed in cooperation with Thales. The system is based on the single-engine, turboprop TBM manned aircraft and was built on behalf of the Directorate General of Armaments (Direction générale de l’Armement, DGA) under the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.
Photos: DGA
The prototype’s maiden flight took place on Tuesday from Daher’s Tarbes facility airfield and marked the culmination of a development effort that lasted just under six months.
The EyePulse demonstrator was adapted from Daher’s TBM platform (formerly SOCATA TBM) and integrated with Thales’ ScaleFlyt avionics suite, a ground control station, and the command-and-control data links.
ScaleFlyt is a remote-control system that provides the ground station with an air-to-ground command-and-control data link. The integration is based on a technology-agnostic control architecture that is interoperable with various systems and complements Daher’s advanced technology for automatic and autonomous flight.
As noted, the EyePulse aircraft performed a fully automated flight, which included an autonomous landing sequence triggered by Alexandre Lahousse, Senior Armament Engineer – First Class (IGCEA) and Deputy Director General of the DGA.
According to Nicolas Chabbert, CEO of the Daher Group’s Daher Aircraft division:
“As a partner of the armed forces for more than 30 years, Daher is leveraging its innovation capabilities and dual-use industrial expertise to fully contribute to the transformation of France’s defense capabilities. We are mobilizing our skills and resources to prepare for the series production of drones. This EyePulse flight demonstration confirms the relevance of our approach and our ability to scale up production.”
Alexandre Lahousse:
“The speed at which Daher implemented this demonstration illustrates the company’s agility. Its ability to use certified and proven technological building blocks for new applications greatly facilitates their integration in the defense sector. Additionally, Daher’s sovereign capabilities –through its industrialization and production capacity within France – are a major asset. Finally, its ability to collaborate effectively with other partners to integrate technologies that may not be mastered in-house also is to be commended.”
The development of EyePulse is one of several MALE-class UAV initiatives supported by the DGA, launched after the 2025 Paris Air Show, during which plans were announced to support French industry in developing such platforms through 2026.
These efforts reflect the DGA’s intent to field unmanned systems with improved performance, lower operating costs, and, crucially, free from U.S. ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) restrictions. Delays in the French-German-Italian-Spanish EuroMALE/Eurodrone program have pushed some European users to adopt American aircraft such as the MQ-9B SkyGuardian (France currently operates the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper Block 5: 12 in service + 2 on order).
In parallel, the French company ETI Turgis & Gaillard is developing another MALE-class UAV, the Aarok, also supported by government funding.
↪️ La DGA accélère le développement des drones MALE dans la continuité de la Convention signée avec @DAHER_official au @parisairshow 2025 pour notamment
➡️ favoriser l’émulation entre des industriels complémentaires
➡️ soutenir la réalisation de démonstrateurs pic.twitter.com/gWaAJCsKV4— Direction générale de l'armement 🇫🇷 (@DGA) December 2, 2025