France tasks MBDA with providing one-way effector UAV
A graphic representation of the MBDA OWE UAV saturating enemy air defences. (MBDA)
France has tasked MBDA with providing a new one-way effector (OWE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the European missile house announced on 22 January.
The Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) procurement agency has approved MBDA to develop and build an OWE UAV as a sovereign long-range solution to saturate enemy air-defence systems.
News of the award, the value of which was not disclosed, came some seven months after MBDA first showcased its new OWE UAV at the Paris Airshow in June 2025. “It took less than a year between the project's announcement, the first test firing and the first contract signature. This unprecedented timeframe has been made possible notably by the DGA's innovative ‘Defence Drone Pact', based on a co-operative and agile approach with industrials,” MBDA said.
The announcement did not provide a timeline for the full development and fielding of the OWE UAV.
For more information on MBDA OWE developments, please see DSEI 2025: MBDA develops Crossbow One Way Effector (Heavy).
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