Airbus plans more Bird of Prey trials

Airbus said on July 9 that it plans additional live trials through 2026 for its Bird of Prey counter-drone interceptor after a demonstration flight earlier this year. The move comes as companies working on counter-unmanned aircraft systems push beyond single showcase tests and into repeated field evaluations. A separate announcement on July 8 from Innoviz Technologies and AeroNous Solutions pointed to the same direction of travel, with the companies saying they would integrate LiDAR into a counter-UAS command-and-control platform. ### What exactly did Airbus say it will test next? Airbus said the new trials will take place throughout 2026, following what Janes described as a successful demonstration flight of Bird of Prey earlier in the year. Janes reported that the company is planning further live testing of the “drone hunter,” a system designed to intercept hostile drones rather than rely only on ground-based defenses. (janes.com) A March 30 Airbus statement said Bird of Prey completed its first demonstration flight at a military training area in northern Germany. Airbus said the unmanned interceptor autonomously searched for, detected and classified a medium-sized one-way attack drone before engaging it with a Mark I air-to-air missile developed by Frankenburg Technologies. (janes.com) ### How does Bird of Prey work in Airbus’s own description? Airbus said Bird of Prey is intended as an answer to one-way attack drones and is built to operate within a broader command-and-control architecture. On its website, Airbus said the system is meant to keep pace with drones that are becoming faster and harder to track because of more complex flight paths. (airbus.com) The March 30 demonstration used a modified DT25 drone as the interceptor platform, according to Airbus and Janes. Airbus said the interceptor can engage threats over large distances, while Janes reported that the company now wants to move from that initial firing demonstration to additional live trials during the rest of 2026. (airbus.com) ### Where does Innoviz fit into this picture? Innoviz Technologies said on July 8 that it had agreed to integrate its LiDAR technology into AeroNous Solutions’ open-architecture command-and-control platform for counter-UAS operations. The companies said the system is aimed at detecting, tracking and responding to aerial threats, with Innoviz describing its role as providing centimeter-level 3D localization. (airbus.com) AeroNous said the platform is designed to protect critical infrastructure, strategic facilities and other sensitive sites. Innoviz, which is listed on Nasdaq under the symbol INVZ, said the collaboration would add its automotive-grade LiDAR sensors to AeroNous’ software-defined counter-drone setup. ### Why are these announcements appearing together now? (ir.innoviz.tech) Janes published the Airbus report on July 9, one day after Innoviz and AeroNous announced their partnership on July 8. The timing put two different parts of the counter-drone market into view at once: Airbus on the interceptor side and Innoviz-AeroNous on the sensing and command-and-control side. (ir.innoviz.tech) Innoviz has also announced other recent counter-drone collaborations, including a July 1 partnership with Givon Defense to explore LiDAR for tracking low-altitude aerial threats. That sequence of announcements shows companies adding sensors, software and interceptors across the same market segment. (janes.com) ### What is the next concrete milestone to watch? Airbus said the next step is a series of additional live Bird of Prey trials during 2026. Innoviz and AeroNous said their next step is integration of LiDAR into AeroNous’ platform for counter-UAS operations, following the July 8 announcement. (janes.com) (ca.investing.com)