France’s Directorate General of Armaments has qualified the vertical take-off and landing version of Airbus Helicopters’ U010 Aliaca tactical drone for French Navy service. The approval follows land and sea trials conducted with the Navy in May and June 2026, and clears the system to enter service under the SMDM programme. The first two systems were delivered in September.
The Navy has ordered 34 Aliaca systems, each comprising two drones; eight systems are to be supplied in the VTOL configuration. The variant is intended for metropolitan and overseas support vessels, known as BSAMs and BSAOMs. Its vertical take-off and landing capability allows operations from ships without separate launch and recovery equipment.
The systems are intended to support maritime sovereignty and security missions in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean, operating from New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Réunion and Martinique. The qualification announcement did not specify initial deployment dates or operational results.
The fixed-wing Aliaca has been in French Navy service since 2022, equipping patrol vessels and surveillance frigates. It has also flown search-and-rescue missions in the English Channel since 2023. The VTOL version shares the range’s ground control station and operating system, maintaining a common crew interface across configurations.