MBDA x Alta Ares: an unprecedented partnership for a rapid and sovereign response to the drone threat

Key takeaways for the media:

• MBDA and Alta Ares are joining forces to offer a rapid, credible and sovereign response as part of the ELISA innovation partnership (Light Equipment for Autonomous System Interception), launched by the DGA (French defense procurement agency) in April 2026. MBDA and Alta Ares are combining their complementary expertise to deliver, from 2027, a first drone-interception solution against Shahed-type targets. This partnership represents a new form of strategic hybridization, un precedented between a global leader in complex weapons systems and an emerging European player in AI and ground-based air defense, to meet a new capability requirement of the armed forces.

• MBDA and Alta Ares are proposing an interception solution suited to mass-deployment needs and low-cost expectations, by leveraging an innovative partnership model. This solution is based on an existing product foundation, notably the X-Lock and Black Bird interceptors, developed by Alta Ares and combat-proven on the Ukrainian battlefield, enhanced by MBDA's expertise in weapons systems. It also incorporates an industrial scale-up approach for the mass production of these effectors, through the involvement of a partner from the automotive industry. The group will thus be able to produce, from the start of 2027, several hundred interceptors per month, and rapidly reach rates of several thousand munitions. Alta Ares and MBDA offer a complete and scalable smart-mass capability, suited to the realities of counter-drone warfare.

• MBDA brings its counter-drone expertise, acquired through the development of its SKY WARDEN system, as well as its know-how in the mastery of military effects. MBDA will in particular provide mature technological building blocks, with the reuse of robust guidance and weaponization chains, as well as a secure data link, optimizing the safety and overall performance of the interceptors. MBDA draws in particular on work carried out as part of the development of the Hit-to-Kill interceptor. The group also leverages its expertise as a systems integrator for incorporating effectors into a complete system, from detection through to neutralization. As a result, the interceptors developed by MBDA and Alta Ares are modular and will already feature the interfaces needed to be operated by an air defense system.

• Alta Ares draws on its successful operational experience in Ukraine and the Middle East with the X-Lock and Blackbird interceptors, developed to meet Ukrainian and Middle Eastern needs. These interceptors share a common onboard terminal-guidance AI, Pixel Lock, developed by Alta Ares, which handles detection, classification and real-time guidance toward the target. Developed and validated in real combat conditions within Ukrainian drone units since 2025, Pixel Lock has successfully demonstrated its ability to intercept Shahed-type drones. The X-Lock and Blackbird solutions have thus benefited directly from field feedback from operators in a tight feedback loop, through rapid iterations, making them suited to high-intensity needs, whether in Arctic or desert conditions.

• The group will rely on an industrial ecosystem entirely based in Europe to offer sovereign solutions, designed and developed in Europe. This hybridization between MBDA and Alta Ares demonstrates that it is possible to combine the speed of new entrants with the depth of a major European industrial player, in order to turn proven innovation into a credible defense capability to meet the needs of European armed forces and their allies.

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Background information:

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1. ELISA: a flagship programaddressing the needs of the French armed forces

• The acceleration of the drone threat, observed both in Ukraine on European soil and in the Middle East, requires us to keep adapting in order to provide rapid responses to the armed forces. Faced with the proliferation of Shahed type threats and the spread o flow cost drones that disrupt air defense systems, new needs are emerging to sustain a long term effort against all these current and future threats (Shahed and others, FPV drones, etc.).

• In France, the armed forces continue to build up their capabilities in counter-drone defense, in order to further strengthen their defense and interception capabilities in an uncertain international context. The rapid evolution of threats means the armed forces need to acquire new capabilities, tailored to their needs, in order tore concile operational effectiveness, volume, responsiveness and cost of neutralization.

• In April 2026, the DGA launched a new innovation partnership to advance interceptor development, under the name ELISA. This partnership aims at the development, evaluation and industrialization of interceptors capable of countering current and future threats from drones or autonomous remotely-operated munitions weighing over 100 kg and reaching speeds of up to 600 km/h, deployable without heavy equipment. These are systems designed to neutralize targets either on impact or by means of an onboard pyrotechnic charge. The targets described in this program correspond notably to current Shahed-type drones or to slow, unsophisticated cruise missiles (such as theKH-101 type). ELISA thus aims to develop and produce a first next-generation interceptor capability to neutralize Shahed-type targets, with an initial operational capability from the start of 2027.

• ELISA will be able to support up to four partners. The DGA plans to allocate €18.7 million to fund three successive phases, each potentially elimination-based. The first phase will involve evaluating the solutions that will serve as the basis for developing future drones. The most promising will be acquired in a second phase to cover short-term needs, a stage that will also involve delivering operational prototypes. However, the bulk of the investment €12.5 million,  is earmarked for a third stage focused on production and continuous improvement. Around 1,000interceptors could thus be delivered to the armed forces through this seven-year partnership.

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