Airbus Aliaca VTOL Drone Wins French DGA Certification: Runway-Free Missions From the Indo-Pacific to the Caribbean
France’s Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) has officially certified the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) variant of the U010 Aliaca tactical unmanned aircraft system, developed by Airbus Helicopters. The certification clears this configuration to enter service under the French Navy’s SMDM program (Système de Mini-Drones embarqués pour la Marine, or Embarked Mini-Drone System for the Navy).
The fixed-wing version of the Aliaca family had already received DGA certification; the VTOL variant represents a new configuration within the same family. The first two VTOL systems were delivered to the French Navy in September 2026.
An extensive land-and-sea test campaign
Certification followed a broad test campaign conducted on land and at sea in May and June 2026, carried out in close cooperation with the French Navy. Victor Gerin-Roze, head of Unmanned Aerial Systems at Airbus Helicopters, described the outcome as “a mature, safe, and highly capable VTOL platform.”
A development arc dating to 2022
The U010 Aliaca has been operational under the SMDM contract since 2022. In 2023, the system began taking part in search-and-rescue missions in the English Channel. Following the May-June 2026 test campaign, the first two VTOL systems were delivered in September 2026, with DGA certification announced in November.
Fleet size and mission split
The DGA has ordered 34 systems in total, each comprising two drones. Eight of these systems will be delivered in the VTOL configuration. The fixed-wing version equips the French Navy’s offshore patrol vessels (PHM/POM class) and surveillance frigates. The VTOL variant, by contrast, is intended for France’s metropolitan support and assistance ships (BSAM) and overseas support and assistance ships (BSAOM) — vessel classes whose flight decks lack a runway, making vertical take-off and landing essential.
Deployment across the Indo-Pacific and the Caribbean
The new systems will patrol in support of French maritime sovereignty and security missions across the Indo-Pacific and the Caribbean. Planned deployment bases include New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Réunion and Martinique — territories that together account for much of France’s overseas exclusive economic zones.
The entire Aliaca family shares a common ground control station (GCS) and a common operating system. That standardization is meant to simplify training and let crews move more easily between configurations.
Assessment
The VTOL certification illustrates how runway-independent UAV operations have become a routine capability for small and medium-sized naval platforms rather than an experimental one. France’s use of this capability specifically to monitor the vast maritime areas around its overseas territories offers a reference point for other navies facing similar geographic challenges. For Türkiye, the concept of VTOL UAV operations from runway-less ships bears directly on ongoing discussions about the future sensor and reconnaissance architecture of MİLGEM-class and similarly sized surface combatants.
Sources:
- Infodefensa, “Airbus Helicopters obtiene la certificación de la DGA francesa para la nueva versión VTOL del dron U010 Aliaca” (Ángel Luis de Santos, November 4, 2026) — used for the certification process, test campaign, fleet size, deployment plans and official quote; the report draws on the French DGA’s certification announcement and a statement from an Airbus Helicopters executive. Link
