At the Paris Air Show 2025, the European defence concern MBDA officially presented a new high-tech development – the One Way Effector (OWE) kamikaze strike drone. This drone is the European response to the massive use of barrage munitions in the wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and other hotspots.
According to Defence Mirror, the OWE is designed to breach enemy air defences, attack command posts, radars and other critical facilities. MBDA said that the goal of the drone is to provide the European armed forces with a mass-produced, cheap and lethal solution that can be scaled up as needed.
The drone has a turbojet engine, a wingspan of about 3 metres, can reach speeds of up to 400 km/h and hit targets at distances of up to 500 km. It is classified as a new generation of barrage munition.
Importantly, OWE is the result of extensive cooperation between dozens of partners from the aviation, defence and automotive industries. One of the main production partners is a major French automaker, which allows us to plan mass production of up to 1,000 units per month starting in 2027.
In terms of technical capabilities and the concept of mass deployment, the OWE is already being called a European analogue of the Iranian Shahed-136 and Russian Gerani, but with higher controllability, accuracy and adaptability to modern combat with a rich electronic warfare and air defence system.
