Germany and Sweden explore Saab-Airbus loyal wingman drone for Eurofighter and Gripen
December 9, 2025
Germany’s Airbus and Sweden’s Saab are in negotiations to develop an advanced loyal wingman drone for the Eurofighter Typhoon and Gripen aircraft. The partnership is seen as having promise to go further and be the basis for a next-generation fighter jet.
The need for European loyal wingman drones
Reuters reported that high-level contacts between Saab and Airbus are focusing on exploring unmanned aircraft to support current-generation fighter jets, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon (for which Airbus is a prime contractor) and the Swedish Saab Gripen E.
Saab CEO Micael Johansson said, “We have discussed whether we can do something on the unmanned side which complements our legacy fighters.”
For its part, Airbus has told Reuters it sees an opportunity to continue working with Saab on unmanned aircraft. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said the current talks with Saab are unrelated to the FCAS programme.
AGN has previously reported that Germany has an urgent requirement for 400 advanced combat drones to enter service by 2029.
Suddenly, there appears to be a flood of advanced autonomous combat options for Europe as US contractors line up to produce adapted versions of their aircraft in Europe, particularly Germany.
Airbus will be presenting its new Wingman concept at the International Aerospace Exhibition #ILA24 in Berlin. This fighter-type drone will be commanded by a pilot in a current combat aircraft such as the #Eurofighter and can take on high-risk mission tasks that would pose a… pic.twitter.com/ObXydUj3ZC
— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) June 3, 2024
Airbus unveiled its stealthy “Wingman” concept at the Berlin Airshow in 2024. Separately, Germany’s Helsing contractor has unveiled the new, higher-end CA-1 Europa loyal wingman drone as an alternative to US-developed drones.
Get the latest aerospace defence news here on AGN.
Germany looks to Sweden for loyal wingman drone development
Saab and Airbus are currently discussing cooperating on unmanned warplane technology. Airbus is the German defence contractor in the FCAS programme.
For now, Germany remains in the FCAS programme with France and Spain, but that project may be effectively already dead. A decision on the future of the programme is expected soon.
Meanwhile, Germany’s news outlet, Hartpunkt, reported that Volker Mayer-Lay, the governing German CDU/CSU Party’s rapporteur for the Air Force in the German Bundestag’s Defence Committee, has stated that there is no future for Germany in the FCAS effort.
In a news release, he said there are “many excellent [European defence] companies poised for cooperation” with Germany as cooperation with France’s Dassault falters.
Autonomous AI-agent fly BVR-combat on #Gripen E
— Gripen News (@GripenNews) June 11, 2025
"Saab, in collaboration with Helsing, today announced the successful completion of the first three flights integrating Helsing’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) agent ‘Centaur’ into a Gripen E"
Source: https://t.co/wyVPdu4vE6 pic.twitter.com/x1HiKl4p0h
The most promising company is the Swedish Saab Group. He said, “Initial negotiations and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Airbus and Saab give cause for hope.” He noted Sweden is a “ready partner” that “delivers without making loud claims to leadership – both technologically and politically.”
Other key defence partners were named, including Liebheer, an expert in landing gear and hydraulics, and BAE Systems with the GCAP/Tempest programme.
Setting the foundation for increased Swedish and German cooperation
For now, it appears negotiations between Sweden and Germany are confined to developing loyal wingman drones, but it could prove the basis for broader cooperation if FCAS disintegrates.
Some now see FCAS as effectively dead and are working on reducing Franco-German cooperation to developing a common combat cloud.
Saab’s Johansson has declined to say whether it would like to develop a 6th-generation fighter jet with Germany. Johansson highlights that Saab has good relations with Airbus through Saab’s Arexis Electronic Warfare system found on German Eurofighters.
While the GCAP/Tempest program is ploughing ahead with Japan having a requirement for it to enter service by 2035, Sweden does not appear to be in the same rush. The Swedish Air Force only accepted its first Gripen Es in October 2025.
Johansson said Saab could not give up its ability to develop fighter jets. Meanwhile, Volker Mayer-Lay has warned that if Germany gives in to France, it would be the end of fighter jet production in Germany.
🇮🇹🇬🇧🇯🇵With how things are turning out in regards to the FCAS, Italy is inviting Germany into the GCAP. Earlier this week Guido Crosetto stated that “the Franco-German program” FCAS had failed. Not sure what role Germany would play at this stage, but lowering costs would be nice. pic.twitter.com/vx8WfVe1Br
— A-129 Mangusta (@NichoConcu) December 7, 2025
Separately, Sweden was also part of the UK-led Tempest effort until 2023. Now, Sweden is conducting its own research on a next-generation successor to the Gripen.
However, no Swedish political decisions on the future jet are due until 2030, although Johansson thinks decisions could come as early as 2028.
Featured Image: Bundeswehr
