On May 20th and 21st, MBDA participated to the Counter UAS Summit 2025, a major European event in the fight against drones and securing critical infrastructure, at Air Base 701 in Salon-de-Provence.
This 5th edition, hosted by the SAFE Competitiveness Cluster in partnership with the General Secretariat for Defense and National Security (SGDSN), the French Air and Space Force and the French National Frequency Agency (ANFR), brings together a community of European stakeholders around the most innovative technological solutions in the fight against drones.
As one of the industrial partners of this event, MBDA presented its solutions developed to meet our customers' needs in the field of counter UAV action.
Building on its deep knowledge of threats, MBDA started years ago the development of a C-UAV solutions. The maturity of its solutions rely on MBDA’s systems expertise, focusing on C2 intelligence and capitalising on decades of products developments.
During the event, MBDA showcased its SKY WARDEN system and its Hit to Kill (HTK) effector, developed to meet our customers' needs in the field of counter UAV action.
CILAS, one of its joint-ventures, presented the HELMA LP, its man portable laser solution, developed for special forces.
By participating in Counter UAS Summit 2025, MBDA is confirming its willingness to remain a key player in the Ground Based Air Defense domain as an innovative C-UAS manufacturer.
SKY WARDEN, the only C-UAV System able to manage the full C-UAS and GBAD kill chain
With its modular and scalable design, SKY WARDEN protects fixed sites, high-value installations, deployed units and air defence units. It uses a multi-sensor approach to provide accurate, real-time situational awareness, is able to manage a variety of effectors. It can be used autonomously or integrated into a broader air defence architecture.
Thus, SKY WARDEN is the only complete and operational C-UAV system able to address with various effectors the challenge posed by full spectrum of UAVs from Class I and II drones, in solo attacks or in swarms, to loitering ammunition, and even other platform thanks to the MISTRAL missile.
SKY WARDEN masters the different effectors, from jammers to Drones “Hit to Kill” up to MISTRAL missiles solutions, to optimize the use of the best effectors (one effector or combination of effectors), which allows the right effector to be deployed at the right time against each threat, depending on the mission.
Able to ensure 24/7 defense availability SKY WARDEN system had been recently deployed in a successful operational demonstration.
Hit to Kill (HTK), the new effector developed to neutralise drones
The Hit to Kill (HTK) effector combines efficiency, accuracy, collateral damage control, compactness, intercept distance and the ability to neutralise interference-resistant drones. Threat neutralisation is achieved through the energy generated during the kinematic impact on micro or mini drones. The HTK system consists of a drone and a ground station with a touch-screen tablet to operate the system. It can be connected to a higher-level command system.
>> Learn more about SKY WARDEN
HELMA LP, a stealth laser weapon
Developed by CILAS, HELMA LP is a stealth laser weapon, design for neutralizing targets up to 500m away, such as armor plates, armored glass, cameras and electronic systems....
>> Learn more about CILAS laser