Airbus plans to make the A400M into a drone mothership by the end of the decade
February 5, 2026
Airbus is planning to have the first mothership version of the A400M Atlas flying in 2029. The development comes as Germany seeks a mothership version of its A400Ms and as it rearms amid an urgent need for 400 advanced combat drones.
Airbus developing drone mothership version of A400M
According to Bloomberg, Gerd Weber, the head of the Airbus A400M Atlas programme, stated at the Singapore Airshow that Airbus is working on developing a mothership version of the aircraft.
Weber stated, “We can deploy as a swarm. That is going to offer a deep strike capability that we have not seen so far.” He elaborated that the Atlas will be using a modular roll-on, roll-off system that will enable it to load the drones.
The A400M would be transformed into a medium-sized mothership and would be able to carry as many as 50 drones, although it’s unclear what size those drones would be.
Airbus is aiming to deliver a concept version of the “mothership” A400M strategic/tactical airlifter by 2029. Bloomberg said Airbus is “developing it with a European customer to use the aircraft to deploy drones and deep strike weapons.”
It is unclear which customer is referred to. Its customers include the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Turkey, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia.
Previous Airbus reporting suggests the customer is Germany
While Bloomberg’s reporting added a timeline for the A400M’s first iteration as a mothership, it is otherwise an old story. In 2022, Airbus announced it was developing a mothership version of the aircraft to air launch “remote carriers.”
In December 2022, Airbus reported, “Germany’s Bundeswehr, Airbus, the German Aerospace Center DLR, and German companies SFL and Geradts have jointly carried out the world’s first successful launch and operation of a Remote Carrier flight test demonstrator from a flying A400M.”
This was part of the Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) to develop a next-generation fighter jet.
Airbus stated “remote carriers” will be an important component of FCAS, with aircraft like the A400M functioning as motherships. They will come as close as possible to their area of operation before “releasing up to 50 small or up to 12 heavy Remote Carriers.”
In mid-2025, Airbus said it continues to develop a mothership version of the A400M for FCAS, while adding “the A400M could take on the role of a mothership for drones even earlier than that” and that tests were already underway.
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Drone motherships are not a new concept
The concept of motherships has been around since the US Navy built the two Akron-class airships in the 1930s. Those airships carried Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawks, a type of biplane fighter. They were able to launch and recover the aircraft in flight.
The explosion of drones has brought the concept of motherships back with a vengeance. There are now numerous examples of drones carrying smaller drones in Ukraine.
Countries like the US and China are working to scale up dramatically. The US has been experimenting with deploying drones from tactical airlifters like its C-130s through its Rapid Dragon programme. It has also demonstrated its MQ-9 Reapers carrying Switchblade drones.
China is working on a large drone mothership called Jiutian, an aircraft seen in public at an air show in Zhuhai in 2024. That aircraft appears to be designed to carry over 100 small drones designed to overwhelm enemy air defences.
Featured Image: Airbus
