Airbus has launched the first operational flights of its U030 Flexrotor drone in Europe, conducting maritime surveillance missions over the Baltic Sea for the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
The deployment follows a 30 million euro contract awarded in December 2025 to strengthen naval surveillance across the European Union. Current missions cover the maritime zones of Finland, Estonia and Latvia, providing direct support to local patrol operations.
Before operations began, the system underwent a series of demanding test flights to validate both technical performance and regulatory approvals. The drone is now operated on the ground by Extensee. The Flexrotor uses electro-optical, infrared and radar sensors to feed data in real time to the EMSA data centre, allowing authorities to monitor operations live for search and rescue, fisheries oversight, environmental monitoring and detection of suspicious activity.
Technical Specifications
The Flexrotor is a Class 2 VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle designed for ISTAR missions, capable of operating from land or a ship’s deck. It can remain airborne for up to 14 hours, carries a maximum payload of 8 kilograms despite a maximum takeoff weight of 25 kilograms, and operates at altitudes up to 1,300 metres.
The aircraft measures 2 metres in length with a 2.2-metre wingspan. Its central 2.2-metre motor handles both vertical lift and horizontal thrust, assisted by two small electric propellers on the wingtips. The nose can integrate the ScanEagle optronic family, while a ventral mount supports radars or AIS maritime identification receivers.
