French defense company Turgis & Gaillard has successfully flown its Aarok Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drone for the first time. Following civil aviation clearance, the aircraft climbed to approximately 5,000 feet and remained airborne for just under an hour. The company has adopted a phased approach, beginning with a piloted prototype to speed up flight approvals and expand the test envelope gradually.
Paris has been advocating for faster fielding of unmanned systems and a streamlined certification process, and Aarok’s maiden flight is aligned with this push. Aarok is a full-sized MALE platform, designed for day-long missions, with a modular sensor bay and multiple underwing hardpoints intended for future precision weapon integration.
The airframe features the classic MALE configuration: long straight wings, high aspect ratio, and a single turboprop engine mounted in the nose. With a wingspan of just over 20 meters, its metal-composite structure prioritizes ease of maintenance and reliability over exotic materials.
Powered by a 1,000–1,200 hp turboprop, Aarok is expected to cruise at several hundred knots and eventually reach altitudes above 40,000 feet. Its endurance is sized for 24-hour intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The fuselage houses a modular bay for EO/IR sensors, SIGINT packages, or other payloads, while the wings are fitted with hardpoints to carry guided munitions, radars, or additional pods as needed.
Operationally, Aarok’s value lies in persistence — the ability to maintain continuous coverage over a target area for hours. This makes it suitable for maritime patrol, border security, route monitoring, target development, and communications relay. Strike missions are an option when doctrine permits, but most flight hours will likely focus on surveillance and coordination tasks.
Europe has relied heavily on U.S. and Turkish drones, while indigenous programs have been slow to deliver. If Aarok continues to meet its milestones, it could provide France — and potentially Europe — with a sovereign, cost-effective MALE UAV solution and reduce dependence on foreign systems. Its first flight represents a significant step toward operational deployment.
