SOFINS 2025 – MBDA France: the Akeron family grows with two loitering munitions

In the MBDA world the name Akeron identifies effectors capable to hit targets beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS). The Akeron MP missile in service in the French Armée de Terre as well as in the Egyptian Navy, and soon in Belgium, Luxembourg and Sweden, can be launched in the BLOS mode, which adds considerable flexibility to the system. The same will be for the Akeron LP, currently in advanced development. The two new members of the family are inherently BLOS, as they are loitering munitions (LMs), developed by MBDA France in full partnership with two UAV manufacturers, Novadem and Delair

“A loitering munition is not an FPV,” the MBDA Remotely Operated Munitions Programme Manager tells EDR On-Line, “we’re actually optimizing the technologies coming from the missile and those coming from the drone, we are not taking a drone and attaching a payload, this is a kamikaze drone solution,” he underlines, adding that although the two partners involved fall definitely in the SME (Small Medium Enterprises) category, they are not subcontractors, they are full development partners.

The two new Akerons are named respectively Akeron RCX 50 and Akeron RCH 170; the two numbers show the system length in centimetres, the X means rotary wing while the H comes from the top view of the airframe, which two wings and the fuselage nearly form that letter. The two systems are issued from the development done by MBDA and its partners to answer two programmes launched by the French Defence Innovation Agency (AID) called respectively Colibri and Larinae. In fact, EDR On-Line understood that MDA started working on LMs even before those two programmes were launched, in 2022, on what is now known as Akeron RCH 140, a smaller version of the current Akeron RCH 170. It was however the AID initiative that really started the process, the French Army looking respectively for a low-cost effector, Colibri, with a 5 km range to be used in the contact zone, and a long-range system, Larinae, capable to attack a target at 50 km distance.

For both programmes the French General Armaments Directorate (DGA) selected two competitors; while the Larinae final selection is still pending, in mid-2024 the Colibri bid was won by the competing consortium, which led MBDA to leverage the work done continuing to develop what was initially rebranded Sphinx and now Akeron RCX 50, the self-financed development being approved in Q4 2024, both MBDA and Novadem investing in it.

The Akeron RCX 50

A specialist in rotary wing UAVs, Novadem derived the Akeron RCX 50 airframe from its NX70 (which can eventually be used as a low-cost training item), of which the new LM is a scaled-up version, its take-off mass being twice that of the original system. The airframe is based on a nearly parallepipedal fuselage along which the four arms and propellers are folded when not in use, kept in place by a strap, reducing its dimensions to 470x170x110 mm; carried in a pouch or in the backpack, it is quickly opened and prepared for flight, its dimensions unfolded being 510x510x220 mm. Less than five minutes are required to prepare the system for flight, which also includes switching on the 1.3 kg rugged tablet and pair it with the munition. Propeller/rotors are activated by electric motors powered by a battery that provides 40-minute flight time, cruise speed being 15 m/s (54 km/h), the Akeron RCX 50 maximum flight altitude being 3,300 metres. As said the range is 5 km, a 10 km option being available. A spike hinged at the bottom of the forward part of the fuselage keeps the airframe at an angle of around 30° when set on the ground before launch; with that angle of attack, propellers are levelled thus provide mostly lift, while when the airframe gets horizontal after take-off they become inclined providing also forward thrust.

The choice of a rotary wing airframe allows the Akeron RCX 50 to be particularly flexible when operating in urban terrain, as it can swiftly follow the buildings geometry, something more difficult for a fixed wing system. It can also perform perching, which is land on top of a building, monitoring the scenario with its sensors package, a colour TV and a LWIR uncooled thermal sensor, taking off again and attacking a target that came into view, perching increasing mission time as the system idles when landed, reducing power consumption. The Akeron RCX 50 maintains the man-in-the-loop, as it is the operator who gives the green light for the attack, and who will eventually be able to call off the mission. A simulator was exhibited at SOFINS, on which two different scenarios were played; the approach phase can be conducted preplanning the flight via waypoints, reducing the operator’s workload. The Akeron RCX 50 navigation system is fitted with GNSS and IMU, the system being capable to operate in GNSS-denied areas. Once the target appears, the engagement phase starts, the operator selecting the target by clicking on it on the touchscreen, an operation that can be repeated in order to refine the point of impact while the automatic tracking leads the LM towards the target. MBDA leveraged the experience acquired on the Akeron MP in terms of tracking; algorithms are derived from those of the bigger missile, but of course they are not as sensors are quite different. Another differentiating element between the mid-range missile and the short-range LM is the computing power; to keep the cost low, the Akeron RCX 50 employs COTS computing units, hence the computing power is lesser. “Currently we are using only image processing algorithms, which work on target shape recognition and contrast with the background, so we do not have yet any AI embedded in the Akeron LMs,” the programme manager told EDR On-Line. Inert tests were conducted against static and moving targets to verify the tracking performances, the airframe maiden flight dating back to over one and a half year.

The next step was to verify the system lethality. The Akeron RCX 50 is intended for neutralising soft and light armoured targets, its insensitive warhead of around 500 grams being aimed forward. EDR On-Line understood this is a small, shaped charge with a few hundred balls generating the fragmentation effect, a stand-off sensor ensuring proper distance detonation to allow the formation of the shaped charge jet. The type of stand-off sensor remains classified as it might provide hints for a countermeasure. The charge can also be triggered remotely by the operator, should the need arise. First static tests of the charge were conducted at the DGA Techniques Terrestres facility in Bourges in early 2024, the warhead being installed in the Akeron RCX 50 fuselage to have realistic results, the first in-flight firing test dating of early 2025. This test was mostly done to check the whole engagement sequence and not to verify the warhead performances, an unarmoured vehicle being used as target. It is to note that MBDA selected to separate the piloting, guidance, and observation functions from the arming functions; the company is used to missiles, which electronically reversible safe-and-arming-unit (SAU) is usually activated at launch due to the acceleration. In an LM the system remains safe until the command is sent to lift the safety when the engagement decision is taken; at that point the Akeron RCX 50 will also accelerate in order to shorten the time-on-target, reducing uncertainties. Should the mission be aborted, the LM can be made safe again, for a possible recover. This option generates a debate, as bringing it back might unveil the unit position, this remaining an operational choice by the customer.

For the time being the ground control station (GCS) is capable to handle one munition at a time, however future improvements will surely allow multiple munitions to be flown at the same time by a single operator, the company considering more important the capability to carry out an attack from multiple directions employing a maximum of four Akeron RCX 50s rather than high numbers of them into swarm attacks, something probably better suited to longer range munitions.

What is sure is that this type of effector needs to be produced in numbers. “We are no longer in an era where we first create concepts, then develop them, and then ask ourselves how we are going to industrialize them. Here, from the very beginning of the concept, we asked ourselves questions about industrialization,” the LM programme manager explained. The two team members are working on reducing the number of components and simplifying them as much as possible, to favour smooth mass production. To further reduce time-to-market the MBDA-Novadem team is launching industrialisation even before the development is fully finished, initial production being planned to start before year end. The Akeron RCX 50 will be produced in three sites, the airframe at Novadem premises in Aix-en-Provence, while two MBDA sites will be involved, Bourges and Selles-Saint-Denis, final assembly being done in the latter facility.

How the Akeron RCX 50 will impact French Army operations? The capability to reach BLOS targets is the same of a mortar unit, however the latter lacks accuracy, while guided munitions are few and very expensive, and a mortar unit logistic footprint is much higher. When a suppressive fire on an area is required, mortars will remain the weapons of choice, however when a sub-unit at company/platoon or even squad level must deal with a critical target at range, eventually BLOS, LMs, hence the Akeron RCX 50, would be the best option.

Akeron RCH 170

MBDA received the Larinae contract in June 2023, so now it has been working on this project for over one and a half year. The development contract will expire in fall 2025, and at that time MBDA estimates that the work will be more advanced than that of the Colibri when the competitor’s solution was selected, one reason being that part of the work done on Colibri was used as a starting point for the new system.

Currently the 18 kg Akeron RCH 170 is launched by a catapult, however the system is designed to be tube-launched, hence its front and rear wings, both hinged under the fuselage, can be folded, respectively backwards and forwards, the single vertical fin hinged on the right side of the fuselage being folded forward. The 170 number shows that the airframe is around 1,700 mm long, wingspan being around 1,400 mm.

EDR On-Line understood it can be fitted into the Akeron LP launch tube, the missile having a 150 mm diameter; a pneumatic launch system will probably be fitted to expel the munition from the tube. The Akeron RCH 170 is a derivative of the Mutant XL fixed wing drone developed by Delair, the Akeron RCH 140 being a derivative of the Mutant in its standard configuration. At the Delair stand the figures provided were 50 km range, 60 minutes flight time and 16 kg take-off mass, MBDA declaring 18 kg, the difference representing probably the warhead mass.

While the Akeron RCX 50 complements mortars in the indirect fire mission in the contact zone, the Akeron RCH 170 can complement the artillery in the fire support zone, its targets of choice being armoured vehicles, both static and mobile. The warhead is based on a shaped charge of a much bigger diameter compared to the RCX 50, over 100 mm, which has a considerable penetration capacity against armour, especially considering that the munition would hit tanks and IFVs on the top, where armour is always thinner, and that the point of impact can be refined until the last moment. Due to those considerations, MBDA decided to go for a single shaped charge rather than a tandem solution. A fragmentation sleeve can be added, EDR On-Line understood, should the customer require it. Here too, in perspective, swarm capabilities will be added, images of the Larinae provided by MBDA showing a half-dozen munitions heading towards the engagement area. Should AI algorithms need higher computing capacity, MBDA plans to add low-cost COTS computers to maintain price under control, rather than reverting to high capacity purposely developed CPUs. This might be the case if on the longer-range munition an automatic detection, reconnaissance, identification capacity will be required. AI solutions are being developed by NEODE Systems, the start-up purposely created in 2024 by MBDA.

Looking at some Larinae pictures provided by MBDA in the past, and at the Akeron RCH 170 scaled down model seen at SOFINS, many differences can be seen; the former features front wings hinged on top of the fuselage, rear wings hinged at the bottom, and it has two vertical stabilators, the one on the right swinging upwards after launch while that on the left swings downwards. The powerplant, based on an electric motor located at the rear activating a pushing propeller, remains similar. The fact that the Akeron RCH 170 programme is less advanced, and that the Larinae competition with the French customer is still ongoing, are probably the reasons why many details, such as speed, are remaining undisclosed.

The GCS used by the Akeron RCH 170 is different from that used by the Akeron RCX 50. The two systems were designed by two different companies, each of them having its own GCS. However, in the future there may be a convergence, which would make things easier for Akeron LM users. As for the recovery issue, if this might not be of interest for the Akeron RCX 50, the Akeron RCH 170 while also being a low-cost alternative to other means will anyway be more expensive than the smaller LM, hence here the reverse capability of the SAU might be exploited to bring back the munition should the mission be aborted. Once again, customer’s choice.

The commonality between the Akeron LP and the Akeron RCH 170 in terms of dimensions was seen at Eurosatory, where MBDA exhibited an Arquus Sherpa 4×4 light armoured vehicle which carried on its flatbed two four-canister launchers, one fitted with Akeron LP missiles and the second with then unnamed loitering munitions, which in fact were Akeron RCH 170. MBDA might also develop new types of warheads for other uses, the protection of naval vessels against high velocity surface threats being one of them.

MBDA and Delair are planning to start Akeron RCH 170 flight tests against static and mobile targets in summer 2025. These should take place at Biscarrosse, on the southern France Atlantic coast, the site selected by the DGA for testing medium-range systems. Production should start in late 2026, and should once again be split in three locations, Toulouse, where Delair will produce the airframe, and the two MBDA plants in Bourges and Selles-Saint-Denis.

Images and photos by MBDA and P. Valpolini