"Bird of Prey" Countering the Growing Threat of Suicide Drones

As modern battlefields continue to evolve, one of the greatest challenges facing military planners is how to defeat a weapon that is both inexpensive to build and costly to intercept. Airbus Defence and Space believes it has found part of the answer with its latest development, the Bird of Prey, a reusable uncrewed interceptor designed specifically to hunt and destroy one-way attack drones.

The rapid proliferation of one-way attack drones, often referred to as Suicide drones or loitering munitions, has fundamentally altered the economics of modern air defence. Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have demonstrated that relatively inexpensive drones can force defenders to expend missiles worth hundreds of thousands, or even millions of euros, to neutralise threats costing only a fraction of that amount.

Iranian Suicide Drones

According to Airbus, Russian forces launched more than 5,700 Geran-type drones and decoys during June 2026 alone, averaging around 192 attacks every day. The sheer volume of these attacks has highlighted the growing challenge faced by conventional air defence systems, which were largely designed to counter fast-moving aircraft and ballistic missiles rather than large numbers of low-cost unmanned aircraft.

Russian Suicide Drone

Rather than relying on increasingly expensive interceptor missiles, Airbus has developed the Bird of Prey as a dedicated drone hunter capable of engaging hostile unmanned aircraft at a significantly lower cost. The system is based on the company's proven Do-DT25 aerial target platform, an unmanned aircraft originally developed for weapons testing and training. By adapting this existing airframe into an operational interceptor, Airbus has accelerated development while keeping costs under control.

Do-DT25 aerial target platform

Launched from a ground-based catapult, the Bird of Prey is designed to autonomously search for, identify and intercept one-way attack drones over considerable distances. Depending on operational requirements, it can be equipped with different types of effectors, allowing operators to tailor the aircraft for specific threat environments.

Unlike many interceptor systems, the Bird of Prey is intended to be reusable, returning after a successful engagement rather than being expended during the mission. Airbus believes this approach could dramatically reduce the cost per interception, making it practical to counter large-scale drone attacks without exhausting expensive missile inventories.

The programme has progressed remarkably quickly. Airbus says the concept evolved from initial design to flight demonstration in just nine months. During a demonstration conducted at a military training area in northern Germany in March 2026, the Bird of Prey successfully completed a realistic engagement scenario against a medium-sized one-way attack drone. The interceptor autonomously searched for, detected, classified and tracked the target before engaging it using a Mark I missile developed by defence start-up Frankenburg Technologies.

Although much of the engagement sequence is automated, Airbus emphasises that the system retains meaningful human oversight. Once a target has been identified, the operator receives an engagement request before authorising the interception. Depending on operational doctrine, the system can also operate under predefined rules that allow rapid engagement while maintaining human supervision throughout the process. This "human-on-the-loop" approach reflects the broader trend within modern autonomous defence systems, where artificial intelligence assists operators rather than replacing them entirely.

A key feature of the Bird of Prey is its integration with Airbus' Integrated Battle Management System (IBMS), allowing it to operate as part of a wider air defence network rather than as a standalone platform. By sharing tracking information and threat data across multiple sensors and command centres, the interceptor can be incorporated into layered air defence architectures already used by NATO members and other allied nations.

Airbus also notes that the entire system has been developed using European technology and is free from U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). This gives potential customers greater freedom regarding procurement, integration and export, an increasingly important consideration for nations seeking sovereign defence capabilities.

For decades, air defence focused on protecting against sophisticated fighter aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. Today's conflicts, however, increasingly feature mass attacks by relatively simple drones powered by commercial components and small piston engines.

These aircraft may lack the performance of advanced military platforms, but their affordability allows them to be produced and deployed in overwhelming numbers. Even if many are intercepted, enough may penetrate defensive systems to achieve their objectives or simply force defenders to expend valuable interceptor missiles.

The challenge has become one of economics as much as technology. Several nations are exploring alternatives ranging from directed-energy weapons and high-powered microwave systems to anti-drone guns, electronic warfare and dedicated interceptor drones. Airbus' Bird of Prey joins this growing category of systems designed to restore the cost balance by providing an affordable means of defeating affordable threats.