Airbus Defence and Space and European defence technology company Alta Ares have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly develop and integrate next-generation European counter-drone and air defence solutions.
The partnership focuses on strengthening Europe’s air defence capabilities against emerging aerial threats, particularly suicide drones, by combining system integration expertise with battlefield-proven artificial intelligence-based counter-UAS technologies.
Airbus said the collaboration will leverage its Fortion Integrated Battle Management System (IBMS) and Fortion SAMOC surface-to-air missile operations centre to enable a fully integrated command-and-control architecture for multi-layer air defence operations.
Alta Ares contributes AI-powered counter-UAS systems that have already been operationally deployed in Ukraine since 2024, along with interceptor technologies designed to enhance tactical air defence capability.
François Lombard, Head of Connected Intelligence, Airbus Defence and Space, said: “Against the current geopolitical backdrop, defending against suicide drones is a priority that urgently needs to be tackled and integrated into our broader air defence solutions. Our counter-drone strategy aims to provide armed forces with cost-efficient and cutting-edge solutions, which can be fully integrated in the air defence ecosystem. To protect Europe and its allies, it is crucial to fill this capability challenge in today’s asymmetric conflict theatres.”
Hadrien Canter, Co-Founder and CEO of Alta Ares, said: “Modern air defence is neither a software issue nor a hardware issue. It’s both, at the same time – and at scale. Integrating Pixel Lock and our interceptors into Fortion IBMS means operators get a single, coherent sensor to shooter chain from detection to neutralisation. That’s what theatre commanders are actually asking for.”
The companies will also continue joint development of interceptor systems including Black Bird, a medium-range system designed to engage high-speed targets such as cruise missiles at ranges up to 30 km, and X-Lock, a short-range system designed to counter drone threats at ranges up to 15 km.
The integration of these capabilities into Airbus’ IBMS ecosystem is intended to strengthen Europe’s layered air defence architecture and enable a fully networked sensor-to-shooter framework across multiple threat domains.
