As the Eurodrone programme is progressing towards the next milestones, interest from different nations is growing. 

The Government of India (GoI) has officially become the newest Observer State in the OCCAR-managed MALE RPAS (Eurodrone) programme – led by Airbus Defence and Space as the industrial prime. The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR), based in Bonn, Germany and overseeing several European defence programmes, has granted the GoI the Observer Status in the Programme following a formal request received in August 2024. 

OCCAR-EA Director Joachim Sucker delivered the Letter of Approval (LoA) signed by the former OCCAR Board of Supervisors (BoS) Chairman, Lt Gen Frédéric Goetynck, to the Ambassador of India to Germany, his Excellency, Ajit Gupta. 

This move is taken by OCCAR as a first step that shows India’s willingness to explore opportunities to potentially collaborate on subjects of common interest between the country and Europe. 

India’s interest follows the Government of Japan (GoJ), which was recognised as the first official OCCAR Observer State in the MALE RPAS (Eurodrone) Programme in November 2023. 

The Eurodrone is a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) designed to carry-out various long endurance missions ranging from Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) and Attack to, for example, Maritime Surveillance, Anti-Submarine Warfare and Airborne Early Warning missions in the future. It is currently under development by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany as prime contractor, together with Leonardo (Italy), Dassault Aviation (France) and Airbus Defence and Space in Spain, for their respective nations.