The Italian Mountain Troops exercise “Volpe Bianca2025”, white fox in English, marked the first public appearance of two members of a new family of loitering munitions developed by MBDA Italia, following requirements issued by the Italian Army Staff
National resilience, full IP property, total independence and sovereignty over the product, these were some of the key parameters written on the white sheet when the development of those new munitions started, in the company R&D centre.
The two munitions are developed by MBDA Italia in team with two national SMEs specialised in UAV manufacturing; Siralab based in Terni focused on VTOL UAVs, and Sky Eyes Systems, based in Foligno, active in fixed wing UAVs. The development was carried out with the aim of anticipating the customer’s needs, shortening the time to field.
Two are the members of the still unnamed family, a quadcopter, dubbed Mini, and a fixed wing munition, which working name is Small. Both are natively integrated into the digital battlespace. This means that MBDA Italia loitering munitions are part of the digital transposition of the battlefield, in which hard and soft kill capabilities are coordinated. This integration was fully seen during the Volpe Bianca exercise, the 3rd Alpini Regiment soldiers being supported by their colleagues of the 9th “Rombo” Cybersecurity Regiment. In the Army 4.0 concept loitering munitions are a fundamental asset of a broader system.
Both types of systems are remotely controlled munitions and are natively integrated in the ‘tactical bubble’ a new concept by Italian Army that allows cyber and electromagnetic protection of the assets in close combat. Both systems allow to hit enemy targets beyond line of sight with high precision and at the right time.
The two systems might have many similarities, the guide and navigation system being software defined, most algorithms could be used on both airframes, the ground control station (GCS) also could be the same. The datalink software is common, waveforms and crypto mechanism being the same, while hardware differs as the two systems have quite different ranges. Although not identical, the lethal payload of the Small is a scaled-up version of that of the Mini; both are of the HE/FRAG type and have been developed by KNDS Ammo Italy. Both consist of a cylindrical structure with a rear flange that allows it to be attached to the ammunition fuselage, the diameter being the same for both warheads. The outside of the structure is filled with pre-formed fragments consisting of spheres, that can be made of different materials and dimensions, depending on different operative scenarios to which the Customer will dedicate the loitering munition. On the inside we find the explosive; this comes in the form of cylinders, also defined as “explosive modules”, the Mini warhead has a mass of 0.5 kg and is filled with two “modules”, while that of the Small, which mass is 1.5 kg, contains additional explosive modules. In the Small warhead the number of spheres increases as the cylinder is longer, EDR On-Line understanding that at the front end of the cylinder the bigger warhead is filled with a higher number of spheres compared to the Mini warhead, probably more layers to fully exploit the 1.5 kg payload capacity. The machine used to generate these “modules” allows a high production pace, EDR On-Line understanding that this might be exploited to manufacture a high volume of warheads destined to Ukraine.
The systems seen at the exercise were the first iteration of the family, namely tested in relevant environment. MBDA Italia is already planning future enhancements that might include the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) based algorithms and integration in new platforms. The rationale would lead to the progressive enhancement of the whole defence system that will be more and more capable to operate in heavy congested and saturated scenarios.
The company underlines the mental shift from the customer side, the Army now considering such systems as “cartridges”, as consumable material, which goes together with a different mindset from the company that put high in the priority list the ease of production and cost control.
Starting from the Small, this is a wholly new design developed with Sky Eyes Systems (SES); it is a man-portable system composed of a GCS, a pneumatic launcher and a fixed wing munition designed to operate in open spaces with a typical operational range of 10-15km. SES ISR UAVs are all catapult launched, while this loitering munition is launched from a circular section tube fitted with a front bipod that gives it the around 30° incline. The launch system dictated the airframe design, which obviously must have all aerodynamic surfaces that can be folded alongside the fuselage. The fuselage has a square section and is around 1 metre long, the munition featuring two sets of straight wings with a span of around 1 metre; the first pair comes just behind the warhead, is hinged on top of the fuselage and folds backwards, while the second is hinged at the extreme rear under the fuselage and folds forward. At the rear we also find the two vertical stabilators, which fold forward. Propulsion is ensured by an electric motor fitted at the rear of the fuselage, which drives a two-blade pushing propeller; when hosted in the launch tube blades are folded backwards.
MBDA Italia Small loitering munition has a mass less than 8 kg with an endurance around 30-40 minutesThe front section hosts the warhead, which is installed horizontally, the Small having a frontal attack profile, the lethal package being able to defeat targets up to light armoured vehicles.
On the front section, which contains the warhead, we could see on the top the GPS antenna, while the optronic sensor installed under the nose was not present in the model. EDR On-Line understood that the front section of the Small loitering munition can be easily removed, the system being therefore modular, thus capable to carry different payloads. The Small should be deployed at platoon/company level.
Switching to the Mini, this is a man-portable system composed of a GCS and a rotary wing munition with a typical operational range of 1-5km with endurance around 30-40 minutes. This is mostly aimed at operations in urban terrain, its configuration allowing it to swiftly fly in urban canyons. To develop it MBDA teamed with Siralab, the Mini being a quadcopter with folding arms derived from the company SR-X class UAVs. Each arm carries an electric motor that activates a two-blade pushing propeller. Its take-off mass is around 2 kg; as the Mini will operate overflying the target, the warhead is therefore installed at the bottom and is designed to distribute its fragments in a cone with an undisclosed aperture angle. EDR understood that the Mini should be deployed at squad/platoon level.
Both the Mini and the Small are fitted with an optronic package and once the target has been acquired the positive identification must be confirmed by the operator before the loitering munitions starts the engagement phase, with safety abort system allowing to interrupt the attack mission until the very last moment.
With the two MBDA Italia Loitering Munitions being at the Mk0 level, the roadmap to improve their performances seems already set, although no timeline was provided. Time will say if the family will grow, with bigger and longer range systems, a Medium being apparently already in the pipeline. Following confirmation of the Italian Army requirements we will likely see a spiralling development of the two existing weapons, mostly by software upgrades, that will give birth to Mk1, Mk2 with higher performances versions, eventually providing the Italian Armed Forces with a dynamic family of loitering munitions under full national control.
For the time being we were not allowed to release images of the Mini and lethal package; hopefully we will be able to add those for a better description of the system, waiting for MBDA Italia also to tell us the final product name, currently still under wrap as it has not yet been registered.
Photos by P. Valpolini