Europe begins study of Future Multirole Light Aircraft for modern conflicts
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The European Union has launched a €15 million research and design initiative under the European Defence Fund 2026 to study a Future Multirole Light Aircraft (FMLA) concept for European air forces. All funded activities are currently limited to studies and design work, excluding prototyping or certification.
As reported by Defense Express on January 5, 2026, the European Union has launched a research and design initiative for a Future Multirole Light Aircraft (FMLA) under the European Defence Fund 2026 framework, allocating €15 million to this specific topic and allowing several cooperative actions to be funded. The effort addresses a structural capability gap across European air forces, where many light multirole aircraft fleets are described as ageing, often between 30 and 40 years old, and where replacement decisions are increasingly framed around the 2035–2040 timeframe.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The FMLA has also been compared by Defense Express with the Brazilian A-29 Super Tucano, a light attack aircraft designed to conduct combat and training missions when more expensive fighter aircraft are not required. (Picture source: Brazilian Air Force)
The Future Multirole Light Aircraft (FMLA) initiative is explicitly oriented toward studies and design activities rather than production, testing, or certification, and it seeks to define a coherent European concept without duplicating or fragmenting existing turboprop or tactical military transport aircraft and their associated electronic systems. Therefore, the general objective of the FMLA is to develop a low-cost turboprop aircraft capable of bridging current battlefield requirements and modern technological standards, with a focus on air-to-ground operations and specific combat roles.
These roles include light attack, drone interception, and close air support, alongside direct air support, ground targeting, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance with combat elements, and air strike coordination and reconnaissance with forward air traffic control support in hostile environments during counter-terrorism missions. The aircraft is intended for low-intensity conflict and asymmetric warfare, offering a cheaper alternative to jet aircraft while remaining suitable for operations from austere locations with limited infrastructure and under conditions where opponent air defenses are suppressed.
From a design and scope perspective, proposals are required to study and design the aircraft in one or two configurations, depending on convergence among supporting EU Member States and associated countries. A central aspect is survivability, with emphasis on modern technologies and materials that reduce visibility to radar and other detection systems through coatings and related measures, as well as protection of onboard electronic systems against interference and damage from external electromagnetic fields, including electromagnetic pulse effects. Additional considerations include electromagnetic compatibility, durability-enhancing coatings for extreme environments, and materials and manufacturing technologies such as high-temperature materials, all intended to maintain functionality and resilience across diverse operational conditions.
The funded activities are limited to studies and design tasks, with system prototyping, testing, qualification, certification, and life-cycle efficiency asset development excluded from eligibility. Mandatory work includes creating an aircraft architecture concept, conducting feasibility studies on proposed configurations to assess costs, benefits, and functionalities, validating estimated budgets, including full life-cycle and maintenance costs, and assessing development timelines. The scope also includes aircraft requirement analysis based on functional needs and end-user procedures, evaluation of mature technologies enabling rapid multi-mission reconfiguration and operation in GNSS-denied environments, exploration of cockpit autonomy trends for single-pilot operations, feasibility studies on survivability and manned-unmanned teaming, and a cooperative analysis of European replacement needs for the light multirole aircraft segment on the 2035–2040 horizon.
A preliminary requirements review constitutes a formal milestone, intended to confirm technical, programmatic, industrial, and market feasibility and to support selection of a reference configuration for a potential later development and industrialisation phase. Design-related tasks include the preliminary identification and assessment of candidate aircraft solutions and the definition of reference and future configurations and equipment. Optional activities may cover programme management and systems engineering plans, overall schedules or roadmaps, costing evaluations, market assessments, environmental impact analyses, and identification of risks and constraints related to implementation, costs, schedules, organisation, operations, maintenance, production, and disposal, all within a cooperative European framework.
The functional requirements for the Future Multirole Light Aircraft (FMLA) specify a small turboprop aircraft designed for certification under EMAR 21 (European Military Airworthiness Requirements Part 21), with a maximum take-off weight of up to 7,500 kg, short take-off and landing capability, and a cargo compartment featuring a rear or side cargo door and a ramp. Applicable standards cover development, safety, environmental resistance, electromagnetic compatibility, electric power, software, complex hardware, and cybersecurity, with deviations requiring justification. The aircraft must be capable of operating in permissive conditions, including flight into known icing, as well as in harsh environments ranging from sandy, dusty, salty, stormy, hot, and humid climates to extremely cold regions with high winds, heavy rain, and mountainous terrain, while maintaining operational effectiveness.
Operationally, the aircraft is required to integrate intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities with possible combat elements, including modern missiles, and to operate with modern avionics and encrypted communications suited to its cost category. It must function using existing or advanced communications networks, detect, localise, and engage targets in collaborative or teamed operations under human supervision, operate from unprepared runways, and participate in natural disaster relief missions. Beyond military roles, the platform must be easily convertible for civil security and EU internal tasks such as search and rescue and border surveillance, while remaining affordable across acquisition and life-cycle costs, supporting export opportunities, involving European aerospace companies and SMEs, and contributing to broader objectives such as strengthened European defence supply chains, enhanced cooperation among European security actors, and improved crisis response and disaster relief capacity.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
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The European Union has launched a €15 million research and design initiative under the European Defence Fund 2026 to study a Future Multirole Light Aircraft (FMLA) concept for European air forces. All funded activities are currently limited to studies and design work, excluding prototyping or certification.
As reported by Defense Express on January 5, 2026, the European Union has launched a research and design initiative for a Future Multirole Light Aircraft (FMLA) under the European Defence Fund 2026 framework, allocating €15 million to this specific topic and allowing several cooperative actions to be funded. The effort addresses a structural capability gap across European air forces, where many light multirole aircraft fleets are described as ageing, often between 30 and 40 years old, and where replacement decisions are increasingly framed around the 2035–2040 timeframe.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The FMLA has also been compared by Defense Express with the Brazilian A-29 Super Tucano, a light attack aircraft designed to conduct combat and training missions when more expensive fighter aircraft are not required. (Picture source: Brazilian Air Force)
The Future Multirole Light Aircraft (FMLA) initiative is explicitly oriented toward studies and design activities rather than production, testing, or certification, and it seeks to define a coherent European concept without duplicating or fragmenting existing turboprop or tactical military transport aircraft and their associated electronic systems. Therefore, the general objective of the FMLA is to develop a low-cost turboprop aircraft capable of bridging current battlefield requirements and modern technological standards, with a focus on air-to-ground operations and specific combat roles.
These roles include light attack, drone interception, and close air support, alongside direct air support, ground targeting, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance with combat elements, and air strike coordination and reconnaissance with forward air traffic control support in hostile environments during counter-terrorism missions. The aircraft is intended for low-intensity conflict and asymmetric warfare, offering a cheaper alternative to jet aircraft while remaining suitable for operations from austere locations with limited infrastructure and under conditions where opponent air defenses are suppressed.
From a design and scope perspective, proposals are required to study and design the aircraft in one or two configurations, depending on convergence among supporting EU Member States and associated countries. A central aspect is survivability, with emphasis on modern technologies and materials that reduce visibility to radar and other detection systems through coatings and related measures, as well as protection of onboard electronic systems against interference and damage from external electromagnetic fields, including electromagnetic pulse effects. Additional considerations include electromagnetic compatibility, durability-enhancing coatings for extreme environments, and materials and manufacturing technologies such as high-temperature materials, all intended to maintain functionality and resilience across diverse operational conditions.
The funded activities are limited to studies and design tasks, with system prototyping, testing, qualification, certification, and life-cycle efficiency asset development excluded from eligibility. Mandatory work includes creating an aircraft architecture concept, conducting feasibility studies on proposed configurations to assess costs, benefits, and functionalities, validating estimated budgets, including full life-cycle and maintenance costs, and assessing development timelines. The scope also includes aircraft requirement analysis based on functional needs and end-user procedures, evaluation of mature technologies enabling rapid multi-mission reconfiguration and operation in GNSS-denied environments, exploration of cockpit autonomy trends for single-pilot operations, feasibility studies on survivability and manned-unmanned teaming, and a cooperative analysis of European replacement needs for the light multirole aircraft segment on the 2035–2040 horizon.
A preliminary requirements review constitutes a formal milestone, intended to confirm technical, programmatic, industrial, and market feasibility and to support selection of a reference configuration for a potential later development and industrialisation phase. Design-related tasks include the preliminary identification and assessment of candidate aircraft solutions and the definition of reference and future configurations and equipment. Optional activities may cover programme management and systems engineering plans, overall schedules or roadmaps, costing evaluations, market assessments, environmental impact analyses, and identification of risks and constraints related to implementation, costs, schedules, organisation, operations, maintenance, production, and disposal, all within a cooperative European framework.
The functional requirements for the Future Multirole Light Aircraft (FMLA) specify a small turboprop aircraft designed for certification under EMAR 21 (European Military Airworthiness Requirements Part 21), with a maximum take-off weight of up to 7,500 kg, short take-off and landing capability, and a cargo compartment featuring a rear or side cargo door and a ramp. Applicable standards cover development, safety, environmental resistance, electromagnetic compatibility, electric power, software, complex hardware, and cybersecurity, with deviations requiring justification. The aircraft must be capable of operating in permissive conditions, including flight into known icing, as well as in harsh environments ranging from sandy, dusty, salty, stormy, hot, and humid climates to extremely cold regions with high winds, heavy rain, and mountainous terrain, while maintaining operational effectiveness.
Operationally, the aircraft is required to integrate intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities with possible combat elements, including modern missiles, and to operate with modern avionics and encrypted communications suited to its cost category. It must function using existing or advanced communications networks, detect, localise, and engage targets in collaborative or teamed operations under human supervision, operate from unprepared runways, and participate in natural disaster relief missions. Beyond military roles, the platform must be easily convertible for civil security and EU internal tasks such as search and rescue and border surveillance, while remaining affordable across acquisition and life-cycle costs, supporting export opportunities, involving European aerospace companies and SMEs, and contributing to broader objectives such as strengthened European defence supply chains, enhanced cooperation among European security actors, and improved crisis response and disaster relief capacity.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
