The European company Airbus is adapting the A400M military transport aircraft to launch drones in the air. The manufacturer announced this during the Paris Air Show, writes Militarnyi.
The aircraft manufacturer presented concepts for using the aircraft for various missions. One idea under consideration is to convert the A400M Atlas into a drone launch platform and aerial control point.
The Airbus military transport aircraft, due to its load capacity and flight range, could transport and launch up to 50 small or 12 heavy drones.
According to Airbus Defence and Space, unmanned aerial systems have become a central component of military operations. Moreover, they will only become more important in the future, contributing to the success of missions in cooperation with combat aircraft.
By the way, it was previously reported about the Chinese Jiutian SS-UAV unmanned aerial vehicle, which is capable of carrying and launching up to 100 small drones, including kamikaze drones, and can also carry anti-ship missiles, glide bombs, and air-to-air missiles. It was developed by AVIC Corporation.