French Defense Ministry procurement agency DGA ordered experimental batch of Akeron RCX 50 quadcopter-type kamikaze drones from pan-European conglomerate MBDA. These drones are first attempt by association specializing in missile weapons, for example Storm Shadow / SCALP to create such weapons type.
Overall Akeron RCX 50, as MBDA stated, is currently already ready for serial production after almost two years work. At the same time, serial order for this drone should be expected after military experiments are conducted.
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Timeline of about two years for creating loitering munition weighing about 2 kg and capable of striking targets at ranges up to 10 km while remaining airborne up to 40 minutes, MBDA considers tight.
Signing Akeron RCX 50 contract with DGA underlines our ability to innovate rapidly and respond effectively to operational needs expressed by armed forces.
This success demonstrates our agility and expertise, confirmed by AKERON RCX50 development carried out in cooperation with Novadem in less than two years, stated MBDA Executive Vice President Stephane Reb.
Note that among Akeron RCX 50 advantages MBDA lists capability to operate without satellite navigation, as well as high accuracy and safety. Autonomous control is embedded in development, where operator on tablet only indicates waypoint to reach and after detection, target for engagement.
At the same time, Akeron RCX 50 does not claim promising swarm application mode, when all drones exchange information with each other and automatically distribute targets. Possibly this function will be added to this development later.
However, 10 km range is currently critically small for such systems, as FPV drones long ago crossed 10 km effective application threshold, while fiber-optic drones are used for striking targets at ranges up to 40 km.
Should note that one year ago, when MBDA first showed its Akeron RCX 50 at SOFINS 2025 exhibition in April 2025, this drone's strike range was declared at up to 5 km.
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