Key to the OWE drone’s success is its ability to “swarm” targets—saturating them with targets and making them unable to effectively respond.
Given the ongoing drama in the Middle East, relatively few military experts have paid much attention to the recent Paris Air Show, where some of the world’s most innovative defense firms put on a series of impressive displays. In particular, the European multinational MBDA defense conglomerate revealed one of the most interesting unmanned systems created in recent history: a new one-way effector drone.
The drone is what’s known as a “saturation weapon”: a drone designed to fly ahead of an attacking force into heavy enemy defenses, trigger those defenses to target it, and expose them to friendly forces looking to destroy those defenses with airstrikes prior to the main assault.
What Can the OWE Drone Do?
MBDA’s OWE drone carries an 88-pound warhead that is the perfect size to activate enemy air defenses once the drone reaches their proximity. MBDA’s new “one-way effector” (OWE) drone can travel up to 311 miles, powered by a jet engine.
Key to the drone’s success is its ability to “swarm” targets—saturating them with targets and making them unable to effectively respond. According to NextGenDefense.com, an industry publication, “MBDA is partnering with drone and automotive manufacturers to mass-produce its new effector drone, tapping into civilian supply chains and industrial methods to scale quickly.” This is a clean (and necessary) break from the failing Western defense industrial model that so often creates production delays and cost overruns—while rarely delivering on the promised systems.
MBDA plans to make 1,000 units of these drones per month. While that would ordinarily produce much scoffing, given the inherent weaknesses of Western defense industrial bases, the new civil-military hybrid model of mass production could allow for MBDA to scale this system in ways previously considered impossible.
The drone has a wingspan of around 10 feet and features two vertical stabilizers at the wingtips, giving it the appearance of a small winged aircraft. It has some similarity in this regard to Iran’s notorious Shahed-136 drone. Much like the Iranian drone, the OWE is relatively slow and difficult to maneuver, making it vulnerable to interception. But its low cost and mass deployment mitigate these problems: high loss rates are anticipated, and are part of the overall planning for this system.
MBDA’s OWE drone can be launched from the ground in swarms using a ramp or integrated hangar. It operates autonomously with a simple mission-planning system. What’s more, it can function in electronically degraded environments.
Development of this audacious new drone began last December, with a test demonstration planned for the Fall of this year. Initial batches are targeted for production by 2027. By using off-the-shelf components and a simplified design, MBDA’s drone is highly economical—costing only a fraction of the price of a cruise missile.
Europe Is Finally Getting Its Defense Industrial Base in Order
MBDA is marketing this new drone as a “European solution” to Europe’s security problem. That’s why MBDA is emphasizing France’s push for independent, high-volume strike capabilities. It’s part of the wider push throughout Europe to rearm in the face of what many believe to be a real—and growing—threat from neighboring Russia.
French designers hope that the OWE will reshape modern air defense strategies by forcing adversaries to adapt to low-cost, high-volume threats, potentially altering the balance between defense and offense in modern warfare.
Whether this system ultimately pans out, the fact that it is so cheap—and the French are innovating this civil-military defense production fusion—indicates that there is a real push to become more lethal in an age when European militaries are anything but.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a contributor at Popular Mechanics, who consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock / tsyklon.
