Airbus signs a partnership with French counter-drone startup Alta Ares

June 11 - Europe's largest aerospace group Airbus plans to work with French counter-drone startup Alta Ares to help meet demand for air defence systems, under a non-binding deal made public on Thursday.

Drones have proved highly strategic in the Ukraine war, but increasingly threaten European countries as Russia has carried out hostile overflights and airspace violations, prompting the European Commission to present a plan in February to counter drone threats across the European Union.

Alta Ares was among the startups invited by the French presidency to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in November 2025. It said on Tuesday it had raised €50 million ($58 million) in its second funding round. 

The company develops ammunition equipped with AI-based software to intercept and destroy drones. 

In a statement from both companies on Thursday, Airbus said it signed a memorandum of understanding through its Airbus Defence and Space division, with the startup to "cooperate on the development and integration of European counter-drone solutions".

Already used by Ukrainian forces against Russian drones, Alta Ares says its drone interceptors are also deployed in the Middle East and in Asia.

Airbus plans to integrate its military command software Fortion IBMS and its air and missile defence management system, the Fortion SAMOC suite, with Alta Ares' counter-drone systems.

The group will also contribute to the development of Alta Ares' two interceptors, Black Bird, which targets cruise missiles, and X-Locks, designed to counter drones such as the Iranian-designed Shahed.

($1 = 0.8664 euros)

(Reporting by Florence Loève; editing by Barbara Lewis)