Helping European drones and helicopters collaborate
The future of European defence will partly depend on the coordination between manned aircraft and unmanned machines. This is what the MUSHER programme – launched by the European Commission and coordinated by Thales – demonstrated, collaborating on operational phases of drones and helicopters from several European countries, whilst opening up new perspectives for a common defence.
The major operational advantages that Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) bring make it necessary to include them in modern military systems. Amongst the many challenges involved in the effective integration of these unmanned devices is a greater need to operate them in close collaboration with aircraft that remain manned.
This was the challenge facing the MUSHER project (Manned unmanned system for helicopter), launched in 2021 by the European Commission as part of the European Defence Fund and coordinated by Thales. The project was completed at the end of 2024, and its results have been very positively welcomed by the European authorities.
The objective was to have European-level implementation of a generic collaboration system between man and machine (Manned-unmanned teaming, or MUM-T) to allow helicopters and drones to use common exchange protocols and a compatible architecture in order act together. This enhanced interoperability will ultimately provide greater operational efficiency, whilst increasing safety in the air and on the ground, and reducing the workload of crews.
In addition to coordinating a consortium of research centres and companies (including major players in European aeronautics and defence, such as Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo and Indra), Thales contributed technically to the project. The company developed, provided and deployed the supervision station that enabled real-time monitoring of all the operations involving drone-helicopter collaboration, particularly during the series of large-scale tests that took place in France and Italy from 30 September to 9 October 2024. The platform also includes a control device coupled with a comprehensive debriefing tool to leverage the data collected during the tests.
These tests have already proved it is possible to have helicopters and drones from different companies and different countries interact effectively within a single MUM-T system. However, the MUSHER programme goes much further, by demonstrating the strategic importance of collaboration between autonomous aircraft and aircraft piloted by human beings, whilst laying the foundations for increased interoperability between European defence players. This results in prospects for new industrial deployments and standardisation processes in which Thales will play a leading role.