The Airbus Helicopters VSR700 UAS on display at the manufacturer’s production facility in Marignane, France (Breaking Defense)

BELFAST — The French Navy and the country’s DGA military procurement agency will likely launch the next phase of the Airbus Helicopters VSR700 unmanned aircraft system (UAS) program in a matter of “weeks or months,” leading to further “incremental development” of the aircraft and entry into service in the next two to three years, according to Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO.

The expected move comes after successful flight tests of a VSR700 demonstrator off the service’s multi-purpose FREMM frigate last year and that fall under its SDAM (Navy Airborne Drone System) de-risking technology line of effort. Airbus and Naval Group, joint developers of the drone, were awarded an SDAM development contract in 2018.

“We are discussing with the Navy and the French DGA and I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to decide the launch of the [VSR700] program in the coming weeks or months, again, at the time where we see the need for more and more unmanned capability,” Even told reporters during an Airbus Helicopters press day held at the company’s production facility in Marignane, France, last week.

“What we propose for the Loi de programmation militaire (France’s long-term defense spending program) … is incremental evolution [and] to enter into service with the VSR by 2026 or 2027,” Even said. (Breaking Defense accepted travel and accommodation for the trip.)

Depending on how France wants to proceed with the VSR700’s next phase, it could either decide to “sign for a development programme first, then sign a contract to launch production,” or commit to both at the same time, an Airbus spokesperson told Breaking Defense in follow on comments Friday.

Even said Airbus, the French Navy and DGA are in discussion about aircraft quantities but declined to comment on an exact figure. He also noted that under the SDAM de-risking phase, the uncrewed helicopter had met “all” operational requirements.

Figures from France’s long term defense plan 2024-2030 [PDF] indicate that Paris has committed to acquiring 10 SDAM aircraft by the end of the decade and at least 15 by 2035.

Aviation Week reported in June, however, that Airbus could face competition to secure a SDAM production contract from Austria’s Schiebel S-300 rotary wing UAS.

Capable of vertical take off and landings and based off France’s Guimbal Cabri G2 light helicopter, the VSR700 has, to date, been designed to support naval based intelligence, surveillance, targeting and reconnaissance (ISTAR) and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations, but Even revealed that it “could perfectly deliver a logistic mission” for the French Army, in a separate configuration. Airbus has not yet started design of such an aircraft, he stated.