Eurosatory Day Five: L3Harris Signs Turkish FPV Deal, UAE Opens Paris Office, and Two New European Tank Designs Go Public

Since Eurosatory opened north of Paris earlier this week, the show has served as a real-time ledger of European rearmament priorities, from France's choice of a European rocket over HIMARS to the EU's sanctions on Chinese defense entities. Tuesday's developments added three more concrete data points.

L3Harris and Turkey's Skydagger Sign FPV Interceptor Deal

L3Harris signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkish drone manufacturer Skydagger on Tuesday to establish co-production of first-person-view drone interceptors inside the United States, according to Breaking Defense. The interceptors are set to be integrated into L3Harris's Vampire counter-drone system, a platform the company describes as a "completely self-contained, low-cost, multi-mission, precision-guided weapons platform."

This will be the first time the Vampire is equipped with interceptor drones. L3Harris's Mike Spina, head of business development for target and sensor systems, told Breaking Defense the company aims to complete integration "this year."

The Vampire has logged over 350,000 operational hours since 2023. The U.S. Army selected it last week as part of Washington's layered counter-drone defense approach in a $106 million order. L3Harris opened a new Vampire production line in Huntsville, Alabama, earlier this year specifically to meet rising allied demand.

Skydagger's Hunter interceptor weighs just over one pound and reaches nearly 200 miles per hour. The company's current production capacity sits at 50,000 FPV interceptors per year. Spina said the focus will be defeating Group 2 and 3 drones, small to medium-sized, including drone-on-drone interception. L3Harris projects the FPV drone market will hit $5.8 billion by 2032.

Co-production with a Turkish firm raises legitimate questions about technology transfer and supply chain dependence, particularly given Turkey's complicated NATO relationship and its separate drone export relationships with parties the U.S. has tensions with. Those questions are not answered by the MOU, and no U.S. government review of the arrangement has been announced as of today.

UAE's EDGE Group Opens Paris Office, Eyes European Market

Emirati defense conglomerate EDGE Group chose Eurosatory to announce the inauguration of EDGE Europe, a new Paris-based office, with CEO Hamad Al Marar calling Europe the company's "next large market," according to Breaking Defense.

Al Marar was direct about the challenge. "Europe does not import. Usually they want European solutions. For European solutions, you need to be in Europe." The new office is partly a buy-in to that dynamic.

France was chosen specifically because of what Al Marar described as decades of "consistent" political and defense relationships, including UAE acquisitions of French fighter jets and main battle tanks. EDGE already has a European foothold through Milrem Robotics, its Estonian robotics subsidiary, which gives it existing NATO-customer experience.

Germany, Al Marar acknowledged, is the hardest market to crack. "They can build everything and they have capacities," he said, describing the competition as "respectful" rather than adversarial.

EDGE's pitch is partly credibility earned in combat. Al Marar told Breaking Defense that EDGE systems had spoofed and jammed incoming drones during what he described as Iranian drone activity targeting the UAE, saying the episode "showed a level of readiness" and demonstrated how "robust" UAE defense industry had become. That characterization has not been independently verified. Africa was identified as the highest-immediate-interest region outside the Middle East.

Two New Main Battle Tank Designs, Two Different Armies

European tank development got two public showcases on Monday and Tuesday. Neither vehicle exists in final form yet, but both reflect the continent's push to field modern armor before the decade ends.

Franco-German group KNDS unveiled its CaPINT Main Battle Tank, a proposed replacement for France's aging Leclerc fleet. The Leclerc is expected to retire around 2037. CaPINT uses a chassis derived from the Leopard 2 A8 and features an unmanned Ascalon turret with a 120 mm gun. KNDS says the design includes counter-drone systems, increased firepower, and "connectivity with robotized wingers" — meaning integration with unmanned ground or aerial systems. Delivery of first units is targeted for the 2030s, according to KNDS promotional materials cited by Breaking Defense.

The Italian-German joint venture Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LRMV), formed in 2024, displayed a separate mock-up for the Italian Army. Its distinguishing feature is a 30 mm remote-operated chain gun capable of 85-degree elevation, designed specifically to defeat high-angle drone strikes. LRMV is currently in negotiations with Italy's Ministry of Defense. Company representatives declined to characterize the stage of those talks, but Italian media have previously reported Rome's requirement at approximately 132 tanks, with an entry-into-service target at the start of the next decade.

Beside the tank, Leonardo separately displayed a quadcopter drone next to its Vulcano 120 mm ammunition, illustrating a concept in which a laser-guided drone would guide munitions to targets at extended range.

The Bigger Picture

Bill Guyan, Senior Vice President at Leonardo DRS, told Breaking Defense that battle management and counter-UAS are no longer differentiators. They are "table stakes" for any modern army. European nations face a compounding problem: budgets are finally growing, but industrial capacity hasn't kept pace. Years of deferred modernization mean procurement timelines are long even when the money is there.

The open question as Eurosatory continues: whether the LRMV tank deal with Italy's Ministry of Defense closes, and on what timeline, will be an early test of whether European defense procurement can move as fast as the threat environment now demands.