Airbus planning further live trials for Bird of Prey ‘drone hunter'

The Bird of Prey with its Mark 1 C-UAV missiles was showcased by Airbus at the ILA Berlin Airshow 2026 in June. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Airbus planning additional live trials of its Bird of Prey ‘drone hunter' throughout 2026, following the successful demonstration flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) earlier in the year.

The company said on 9 July that the autonomous counter-UAV (C-UAV) system will undertake further trials following the April firing of the Frankenburg Technologies Mark 1 C-UAV missile on a military training area in northern Germany (not named, but likely to be the Peenemünde test ranges on the Baltic coast).

“Airbus is already planning additional live trials throughout 2026 to further operationalise the system for global customers. As the ‘drone wars' intensify, Bird of Prey offers more than just a new weapon system, it offers a means of winning the war of attrition,” the company said.

The Bird of Prey was first launched as the the LOw-cost Air Defence (LOAD) system in March 2025. As noted by Airbus, Bird of Prey progressed from an idea to its first demonstration flight in just nine months. This first demonstration saw the UAV that is based on the Airbus based on the Airbus Do-DT25 target drone search for, detect and classify classified a medium-sized one-way attack drone before engaging it with a Mark I missile.