French UAV designer FLY-R has launched a new rhomboidal-wing loitering munition with European missile group MBDA. The UAE’s Tawazun Council supports the programme as an industrial partner. At Dubai Airshow 2025, the partners announced the project in front of senior Emirati and French officials.
Fast-track programme for land and maritime missions
The co-development effort targets a compact, high-performance loitering weapon for land and maritime missions. It also aims to move quickly from design to testing and full production. As a result, the programme fits both the UAE’s defence industry goals and MBDA’s faster innovation plans.
FLY-R’s proprietary rhomboidal-wing design sits at the core of the new system. The diamond-shaped wing forms a closed aerodynamic loop with short spans and a compact shape. This layout delivers high stability, good lift and tight turn performance in a small aircraft. In some flight profiles, it can also help reduce detectability compared with conventional wings.
Rhomboidal-wing design for speed, agility and precision
The future rhomboidal-wing loitering munition will use this geometry to combine speed, manoeuvrability and precision. According to the partners, the aircraft is being tuned for aggressive manoeuvres in low-level flight. At the same time, the stable platform supports accurate final attack runs against land and naval targets.
In addition, the system will feature embedded artificial intelligence. Onboard processing will assist with route planning, target detection and in-flight updates. However, human operators will keep control over arming and engagement decisions, in line with current doctrine.
AI, modular payloads and flexible deployment
A modular payload bay will give the rhomboidal-wing loitering munition wide mission flexibility. Users will be able to configure warheads for armoured vehicles, fixed sites or small maritime targets. In future, the same design could also carry non-kinetic payloads for surveillance or electronic warfare.
The partners are placing strong focus on deployment options. The aircraft will be compact, lightweight and easy to handle for small teams. It can be tube-launched and carried by a single operator. It can also be fitted to vehicles, naval platforms or larger unmanned systems.
This flexibility reflects a clear market trend. Modern forces want loitering munitions that plug into many platforms instead of a single launcher. In practice, the same rhomboidal-wing loitering munition could support infantry units, coastal defence batteries and naval task groups.
Franco–Emirati cooperation and next steps
From an industrial standpoint, the programme deepens cooperation between France and the UAE in advanced defence systems. FLY-R contributes its wing design experience and core technology. MBDA brings its record in guided weapons, systems engineering and certification. Meanwhile, Tawazun Council helps anchor design and production work inside the UAE.
Over the next phases, the team plans to move through detailed design, prototyping, flight testing and qualification. In parallel, they intend to set up an industrial model that supports series production and export. If successful, the rhomboidal-wing loitering munition could become a reference design in its class.
Commenting on the launch, FLY-R CEO and co-founder Rémi Albert welcomed the collaboration. He said it confirms the importance of the company’s wing technology. He also noted that the programme shows confidence in FLY-R’s ability to deliver new but practical unmanned solutions.
For the UAE, the project supports a long-term goal. It aims to combine foreign know-how with local skills to build a strong defence industrial base.
As Dubai Airshow 2025 highlights the latest advances in unmanned systems, the FLY-R–MBDA–Tawazun partnership stands out. It pairs an unusual aerodynamic concept with a fast development roadmap. Most importantly, it aims to give modern armed forces a portable, precise and adaptable strike option. The core of that option is a distinctive rhomboidal-wing loitering munition.
