European manufacturer shifts focus as customers seek an earlier service-entry date
Airbus has ended development of its Wingman uncrewed aircraft concept, unveiled in 2024, and is shifting its focus to the U760 Ravenstorm collaborative combat aircraft. The decision follows customer requests to bring forward the timeline for fielding such aircraft, Laurent Le Quément, Airbus’s head of future air power and UAS marketing, said.
Wingman was introduced at the Berlin Air Show as a concept designed to address emerging operational requirements of the German Air Force. Its original schedule did not envisage service entry before the early 2030s, while comments made at the concept’s unveiling pointed to a timeline closer to 2040.
Ravenstorm builds on the Barracuda demonstrator
Airbus says it chose the U760 because it builds on the established design of the company’s Barracuda demonstrator. Work on Barracuda began in 2003, initially as a classified project, and the program went on to complete six flight-test campaigns.
Ravenstorm will use a business-jet engine. Wingman, by contrast, was to be powered by a bespoke engine developed by Rolls-Royce Deutschland and Spain’s ITP Aero. Le Quément said a purpose-built aircraft configured for air-to-air combat and equipped with an AESA radar would be substantially more expensive.
Airbus describes Ravenstorm as capable of high-subsonic cruise and carrying up to 500 kilograms of weapons in an internal bay. The company had previously targeted a Wingman cost equivalent to about one-third of a crewed fighter.
Three aircraft, different schedules
Ravenstorm is the second of three planned designs in Airbus’s CCA family. The first, the U740 Valkyrie, is being developed with U.S. company Kratos to address a German requirement for 2029. Airbus is targeting 2032 for Ravenstorm to enter service.
The third design remains at the study stage. Airbus is assessing more specialized aircraft for air-to-air missions or electronic warfare.
Following its first flight in Northern Europe last month, the Valkyrie is scheduled to take part next year in a crewed-uncrewed teaming flight with a Eurofighter Typhoon.
Germany’s requirement remains unsettled
The timeline for Germany’s 2029 CCA requirement is uncertain after Berlin reconsidered a direct procurement of Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat drones. The change leaves Airbus among the potential contenders for a German order.
Airbus says it intends to remain on the originally stated schedule even if Germany adjusts its plans. If the requirement shifts to 2032, Ravenstorm could be better aligned with the revised timeline.
