Alta Ares Blog

MBDA and Alta Ares are joining forces under ELISA, a French DGA innovation partnership, to deliver a rapid, sovereign counter-drone solution against Shahed-type threats. Combining Alta Ares' combat-proven interceptors and their onboard AI guidance system Pixel Lock with MBDA's weapons systems expertise, the partnership will produce several hundred interceptors per month from early 2027 through an entirely European industrial ecosystem.

Berlin, 11 June 2026 - Airbus Defence and Space and Alta Ares, a European defence technology company specialised in counter-drone systems and on-board artificial intelligence, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate on the development and integration of European counter-drone solutions.

This funding round, led by top-tier AI and defense investors, will enable Alta Ares to accelerate the development and deployment of its surface-to-air systems, which combine interceptors, data fusion software, and edge AI.

Alta Ares, European leader in AI-powered counter-drone systems, has successfully completed a series of live demonstrations of its Black Bird interceptor drone in extreme arctic conditions, alongside the Estonian Defence Forces, local partners and battle-proven Ukrainian companies.