Airbus Helicopters Deploys U030 Flexrotor UAV for Baltic Sea Surveillance and Canada Order

Airbus Helicopters has put its autonomous U030 Flexrotor unmanned aerial system into operational service for the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The platform is conducting maritime surveillance missions over the Baltic Sea, covering Estonia, Latvia and Finland, marking its first deployment in Europe. The system can take off and land vertically, stay aloft for more than 12 hours and carries electro‑optical, infrared and radar sensors that feed real‑time data to EMSA’s RPAS data centre for search and rescue, fisheries control, environmental monitoring and detection of illicit activities.

At the Farnborough International Airshow, Airbus Helicopters and Canadian operator Voyageur Aviation signed an agreement making Voyageur the first Canadian customer for the Flexrotor. Voyageur plans to use the platform for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and maritime patrol services in challenging Arctic and coastal regions. The deal follows a memorandum of understanding signed at CANSEC in May 2026 and builds on a €30 million framework contract awarded by EMSA in December 2025 for remote‑piloted aircraft services across the EU.