Airbus’ Bird of Prey drone intercepts kamikaze drone in first test

Airbus has reported the successful maiden flight of its ‘Bird of Prey’ interceptor drone, which took place at a military training site in northern Germany.

During the demonstration, the drone autonomously located, identified, and classified a medium-sized one-way attack drone within a simulated operational context.

The Bird of Prey engaged the target using a Mark I air-to-air missile manufactured by Frankenburg Technologies, Airbus said.

Airbus Defence and Space CEO Mike Schoellhorn said: “Against the current geopolitical and military backdrop, defending against kamikaze drones is a tactical priority that urgently needs to be tackled.

“With our Bird of Prey and Frankenburg’s affordable Mark I missiles, we are providing armed forces with an effective, cost-efficient interceptor, filling a crucial capability gap in today’s asymmetric conflict theatres. The integration of Bird of Prey into Airbus’ air defence battle management suite IBMS acts as a force multiplier.”

The flight comes nine months after the project began. The prototype used is based on a modified Airbus Do-DT25 drone, with specifications including a wingspan of 2.5 metres (m), length of 3.1m, and maximum take-off weight of 160 kilograms (kg).

For this demonstration, engineers equipped the unit with four Mark I missiles, while the operational models are intended to carry up to eight.

The Mark I missile is described as high-subsonic and “fire-and-forget,” with an engagement range reaching 1.5 kilometres (km). Each of these missiles measures 65 centimetres (cm) in length and weighs under 2kg.

The missiles include fragmentation warheads for close-range interception and are currently the lightest guided interceptors developed. This design allows the Bird of Prey to engage several kamikaze drones per mission at a relatively low operational expense.

The drone integrates into Nato’s air defence systems through Airbus’ Integrated Battle Management System (IBMS), enabling interoperability with existing command and control infrastructure.

Airbus and Frankenburg plan further trials involving live warheads through 2026 to advance operational readiness and display the system’s capabilities to international defence customers.

Frankenburg CEO Kusti Salm said: “This is a defining step for modern air defence. Together with Airbus, it marks the first integration of a new class of low-cost, mass-manufacturable interceptor missiles onto a drone, creating a new cost curve for air defence and enabling defence against mass aerial threats at a fundamentally different scale.”