Spanish Navy Tests H135 Helicopter Teaming with Flexrotor and A900 Drones.

Airbus Helicopters and the Spanish Navy completed a tactical flight trial in Rota earlier in May 2026 that connected a crewed H135 helicopter, the Flexrotor unmanned aerial vehicle, and the A900 drone into a single maritime combat network, dramatically extending the fleet’s ability to detect and track targets beyond the patrol ship’s sensor range. The demonstration, conducted aboard the offshore patrol vessel Rayo, highlights how crewed-uncrewed teaming can expand maritime surveillance coverage and improve targeting speed without exposing manned platforms to higher-risk areas.

The exercise used Airbus’ HTeaming mission management system to coordinate real-time data sharing among the ship, helicopter, and unmanned systems, creating a broader, more persistent reconnaissance picture for naval operations. The successful integration reflects a broader shift toward distributed maritime warfare, in which autonomous systems are increasingly used to enhance situational awareness, force protection, and long-range threat detection.

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Airbus Flexrotor and Alpha A900 unmanned aerial vehicles operate from the Spanish Navy offshore patrol vessel Rayo during maritime ISTAR trials in Rota, Spain, validating real-time drone integration with the Navy’s NAIAD and SCOMBA combat management systems. (Picture source: Airbus Helicopters)

The demonstration validated real-time drone control and live imagery sharing between naval vessels, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles during a simulated ISTAR maritime mission. Conducted with integration into Navantia’s NAIAD autonomous systems architecture and the Spanish Navy’s SCOMBA combat management system, the exercise highlighted Spain’s accelerating progress toward multi-domain naval warfare and interoperable autonomous operations.

During the trials, both the Flexrotor and the Alpha A900 drones successfully performed take-offs and landings from the moving offshore patrol vessel Rayo, a critical operational capability for expeditionary and maritime security missions. The H135 helicopter crew managed both drones in flight via Airbus Helicopters’ HTeaming tablet, demonstrating the system’s modular, agnostic architecture by integrating unmanned systems from different manufacturers into a unified operational network.

The exercise scenario centered on a simulated high-speed boat pursuit during an intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance operation. The Flexrotor and A900 tracked the target vessel while simultaneously transmitting live video feeds to the H135 helicopter and the combat information center aboard Rayo. This real-time sensor fusion enabled the ship’s operators to maintain persistent surveillance of the target at ranges beyond the ship’s organic radar and electro-optical detection envelope.

A key technological element of the demonstration was the integration of unmanned systems into Navantia’s NAIAD (Naval Advanced Integrated Autonomous Vehicles Defense system), which is designed to coordinate aerial, surface, and underwater autonomous assets. NAIAD operates within SCOMBA, the Spanish Navy’s indigenous combat management system developed by Navantia for frigates, offshore patrol vessels, amphibious ships, and future naval combatants. By integrating drone-derived intelligence directly into SCOMBA, the Spanish Navy demonstrated an operational architecture that treats unmanned aerial systems as fully networked combat assets rather than standalone reconnaissance tools.

The Airbus HTeaming system played a central role in enabling this level of interoperability. Designed as a modular crewed-uncrewed teaming solution, HTeaming allows helicopter crews to directly control unmanned aerial vehicles in flight without requiring separate ground control stations. This significantly reduces the response time between target detection and tactical decision-making while lowering the manpower burden aboard naval vessels. The system also enables airborne operators to dynamically retask drones in response to evolving threats, an increasingly important capability in contested maritime environments.

Supporting the data exchange architecture, Airbus’ Helicopter Integrated Tactical System acted as a bridge between the unmanned systems and the vessel’s combat network. The tactical console ensured that imagery and targeting data generated by the drones remained compatible with the NAIAD and SCOMBA environment, enabling seamless command-and-control integration across the participating assets.

The Flexrotor unmanned aerial vehicle brought long-endurance surveillance capabilities to the demonstration. The vertical take-off and landing drone is optimized for maritime ISR missions and can operate from small-deck naval vessels without catapult launch systems or recovery equipment. Its ability to remain airborne for extended periods provides naval forces with persistent reconnaissance coverage over large maritime areas while minimizing the exposure of crewed aircraft to potential threats. Meanwhile, the Alpha A900 rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle provided agile low-altitude surveillance and rapid target reacquisition during the pursuit scenario, complementing the Flexrotor’s endurance profile with tactical flexibility.

The operational implications of the exercise are significant for the Spanish Navy and European naval modernization programs more broadly. Modern maritime security operations increasingly require persistent surveillance against asymmetric threats, such as smuggling networks, piracy, fast-attack craft, and unmanned surface vessels operating across wide sea areas. Integrating helicopters and unmanned aerial systems into a common tactical network allows naval commanders to dramatically increase situational awareness without proportionally increasing fleet size or personnel requirements.

The demonstration also reflects a wider European effort to reduce dependence on non-European defense technologies in critical autonomous warfare capabilities. Airbus Helicopters, Navantia, and Alpha Unmanned Systems collectively showcased an indigenous European solution that integrates crewed aviation, autonomous systems, and naval combat management architectures into a sovereign operational ecosystem. This aligns with ongoing European Union and NATO priorities focused on interoperability, digitalized command networks, and autonomous force multiplication.

Fernando Lombo, Managing Director of Airbus Helicopters in Spain, emphasized the strategic dimension of the project, stating that cooperation between Airbus, Navantia, Alpha Unmanned Systems, and the Spanish Navy demonstrates Europe’s capacity to deliver advanced defense technologies independently. The exercise also underscores Spain’s ambition to position itself as a leading European hub for integrating naval autonomous systems and multi-domain operations.

Future development efforts will expand on the Rota trials by exploring coordinated drone-swarm operations and deeper integration among naval, aerial, and land-based autonomous systems. These next phases could eventually allow Spanish and allied forces to deploy interconnected networks of unmanned aerial vehicles capable of collaborative surveillance, target tracking, electronic warfare support, and distributed maritime sensing across large operational theaters.

Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.