Plan for European manufactured unmanned aerial vehicle uncertain.

• Author: Tadjdeh, Yasmin

* Europe is edging closer to the development of its own indigenous medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle that could threaten U.S. and Israeli manufacturers' business, experts said.

The United States and Israel have long been leaders in the global UAV market with ubiquitous systems like General Atomics' Reaper and Israel Aerospace Industries' Heron flying around the globe. Some countries, such as Italy, France and Germany, are keen on creating a native European system that could alleviate their reliance on foreign drones, defense ministers from each respective country have said.

This summer, the three countries signed a two-year declaration of intent to study the possibility of manufacturing a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) drone that could be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. After the study is complete, a decision will be made whether to proceed with the development and procurement of the system.

Airbus Defence, Dassault Aviation and Finmeccanica have been at the forefront of the project, which has been in the works for years. In 2014 they submitted a MALE unmanned aerial system study proposal for a 24-month "definition phase" followed by a development stage.

After the signing of the declaration of intent in May, all three companies' CEOs said they were pleased by the decision.

"The next generation MALE UAS represents a step ... [forward] for the European defense and security agenda," Mauro Moretti, Finmeccanica's CEO said in a statement. "This initiative is a unique opportunity to pursue a joint technological path built on proven industrial leaderships all contributing to a single objective."

Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, said the decision was a welcome announcement and stressed that an indigenous capability is necessary for both military and security missions.

Bernhard Gerwert, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, said the signing was a milestone for the European defense industry.

It "clearly recognizes that sovereignty in [the] development of new systems --and specifically in military reconnaissance and unmanned aviation--is of strategic importance for European security," he said.

The current definition phase, as part of the declaration of intent, will focus on "tailoring new developments to customer requirements," said Giovanni Soccodato, executive vice president of strategy, markets and business development at Finmeccanica. "It is the first phase of a system development...