Milipol 2025: German Dronivo presents MILAN-17 VTOL drone with new reconnaissance payloads
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Dronivo presented its MILAN-17 fixed-wing VTOL drone to the geospatial sector in Frankfurt and then showcases the defense-ready configuration at Milipol Paris 2025.
The German company Dronivo GmbH, on October 7, 2025, formally introduced its MILAN V17 fixed-wing VTOL UAV concept to the geospatial community at INTERGEO 2025 in Frankfurt, then brought the defense-focused MILAN-17 configuration to Milipol Paris 2025 for its first dedicated homeland security showing. This dual debut underlines Dronivo’s intent to bridge civil mapping and tactical ISR requirements with a single modular platform. The company is positioning the aircraft as a bridge between commercial mapping needs and tactical ISR tasks for military and security agencies.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The Dronivo MILAN-17 is a compact fixed-wing VTOL drone offering two-hour endurance, a 900-gram payload capacity, and rapid three-minute field assembly, providing police and military units with runway-independent ISR coverage using advanced stabilized sensors and encrypted long-range control links (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).
At the heart of the system is a compact tilt-rotor airframe optimized for ISR missions, as detailed in Dronivo’s technical sheet. The MILAN-17 measures 1,310 mm in body length with a 1,700 mm wingspan, supports payloads from 0 to 900 g, and reaches a maximum take-off weight of 5.5 kg. Flight performance includes up to 120 minutes endurance, a maximum speed of 25 m/s, a minimum speed of 9 m/s, and a cruise band between 15 and 18 m/s.
The airframe is designed around battery-electric propulsion and lightweight composite construction comparable to other 1.7 m-class tilt-rotor VTOL frames, which typically use carbon fiber structures and EPP foam to balance rigidity with survivability in rough field handling. Platforms in this category pair similar geometry with a recommended 8S 14.5 Ah Li-ion pack, enabling approximately 120 minutes of flight with an 800 g payload and a nominal range of 125 km. MILAN-17’s published figures clearly place it in that same long-endurance mini-UAS segment.
The payload and avionics stack are what turn the geospatial Milan V17 into a tactical MILAN-17. According to Dronivo, the system integrates a CubePilot Orange Plus class flight controller, high-precision GNSS and telemetry based on the HereLink family, and a Skydroid H16 ground control station that provides a rugged Android interface with encrypted digital links. The platform supports automatic return-to-launch, controlled descent and loiter failsafe modes, providing layered protection if the link is disrupted, the battery is depleted or the crew needs to abort a mission over populated terrain.
The drone is explicitly marketed as designed for ISR missions, and the 900 g payload margin is sufficient for a stabilized EO/IR gimbal, a nadir mapping camera or even compact LiDAR for 3D urban modeling. For internal security forces at Milipol, that translates into practical mission sets: silent border-sector reconnaissance, cordon-and-search overwatch, critical infrastructure surveillance and rapid post-incident mapping of urban disturbances or disaster sites. In a military context, the same configuration can support pre-mission route reconnaissance, convoy overwatch or forward observation for light infantry without committing higher-value MALE assets.
The deployment concept remains strictly small-unit. The airframe uses a tool-free quick-assembly design that allows crews to assemble or disassemble the drone in under three minutes, minimizing time spent vulnerable on roadsides, rooftops or forward positions. Vertical take-off allows launch from forest tracks, enclosed courtyards or ship decks; once at altitude, the switch to fixed-wing cruise provides the endurance that quadcopters cannot match. This combination of runway independence and extended on-station time matches broader trends in military VTOL UAV doctrine, where hybrid platforms increasingly replace pure multirotors for patrol and wide-area search tasks.
On the industrial side, the MILAN-17 fits cleanly within the Dronivo Defence portfolio, which positions the company as a 360-degree partner for military UAS, counter-UAV systems, tactical software and training. Dronivo highlights maintenance, MRO support and bespoke R&D as part of the offering, which is critical for police and defense customers who now expect a full lifecycle ecosystem rather than a standalone airframe. That service architecture is likely to matter as much as the raw flight specifications when ministries evaluate candidates for national drone programs.
As of Milipol Paris 2025, Dronivo has publicly emphasized demonstrations of the MILAN-17 to participants from military and government organizations during previous International Drone Network events, but no specific government contracts or serial procurement deals have been officially announced. The aircraft, therefore, sits in an interesting position: technically mature, packaged as mission-ready, yet still competing for formal selection in a crowded European tactical VTOL market that includes both domestic and imported systems.
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Dronivo presented its MILAN-17 fixed-wing VTOL drone to the geospatial sector in Frankfurt and then showcases the defense-ready configuration at Milipol Paris 2025.
The German company Dronivo GmbH, on October 7, 2025, formally introduced its MILAN V17 fixed-wing VTOL UAV concept to the geospatial community at INTERGEO 2025 in Frankfurt, then brought the defense-focused MILAN-17 configuration to Milipol Paris 2025 for its first dedicated homeland security showing. This dual debut underlines Dronivo’s intent to bridge civil mapping and tactical ISR requirements with a single modular platform. The company is positioning the aircraft as a bridge between commercial mapping needs and tactical ISR tasks for military and security agencies.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The Dronivo MILAN-17 is a compact fixed-wing VTOL drone offering two-hour endurance, a 900-gram payload capacity, and rapid three-minute field assembly, providing police and military units with runway-independent ISR coverage using advanced stabilized sensors and encrypted long-range control links (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).
At the heart of the system is a compact tilt-rotor airframe optimized for ISR missions, as detailed in Dronivo’s technical sheet. The MILAN-17 measures 1,310 mm in body length with a 1,700 mm wingspan, supports payloads from 0 to 900 g, and reaches a maximum take-off weight of 5.5 kg. Flight performance includes up to 120 minutes endurance, a maximum speed of 25 m/s, a minimum speed of 9 m/s, and a cruise band between 15 and 18 m/s.
The airframe is designed around battery-electric propulsion and lightweight composite construction comparable to other 1.7 m-class tilt-rotor VTOL frames, which typically use carbon fiber structures and EPP foam to balance rigidity with survivability in rough field handling. Platforms in this category pair similar geometry with a recommended 8S 14.5 Ah Li-ion pack, enabling approximately 120 minutes of flight with an 800 g payload and a nominal range of 125 km. MILAN-17’s published figures clearly place it in that same long-endurance mini-UAS segment.
The payload and avionics stack are what turn the geospatial Milan V17 into a tactical MILAN-17. According to Dronivo, the system integrates a CubePilot Orange Plus class flight controller, high-precision GNSS and telemetry based on the HereLink family, and a Skydroid H16 ground control station that provides a rugged Android interface with encrypted digital links. The platform supports automatic return-to-launch, controlled descent and loiter failsafe modes, providing layered protection if the link is disrupted, the battery is depleted or the crew needs to abort a mission over populated terrain.
The drone is explicitly marketed as designed for ISR missions, and the 900 g payload margin is sufficient for a stabilized EO/IR gimbal, a nadir mapping camera or even compact LiDAR for 3D urban modeling. For internal security forces at Milipol, that translates into practical mission sets: silent border-sector reconnaissance, cordon-and-search overwatch, critical infrastructure surveillance and rapid post-incident mapping of urban disturbances or disaster sites. In a military context, the same configuration can support pre-mission route reconnaissance, convoy overwatch or forward observation for light infantry without committing higher-value MALE assets.
The deployment concept remains strictly small-unit. The airframe uses a tool-free quick-assembly design that allows crews to assemble or disassemble the drone in under three minutes, minimizing time spent vulnerable on roadsides, rooftops or forward positions. Vertical take-off allows launch from forest tracks, enclosed courtyards or ship decks; once at altitude, the switch to fixed-wing cruise provides the endurance that quadcopters cannot match. This combination of runway independence and extended on-station time matches broader trends in military VTOL UAV doctrine, where hybrid platforms increasingly replace pure multirotors for patrol and wide-area search tasks.
On the industrial side, the MILAN-17 fits cleanly within the Dronivo Defence portfolio, which positions the company as a 360-degree partner for military UAS, counter-UAV systems, tactical software and training. Dronivo highlights maintenance, MRO support and bespoke R&D as part of the offering, which is critical for police and defense customers who now expect a full lifecycle ecosystem rather than a standalone airframe. That service architecture is likely to matter as much as the raw flight specifications when ministries evaluate candidates for national drone programs.
As of Milipol Paris 2025, Dronivo has publicly emphasized demonstrations of the MILAN-17 to participants from military and government organizations during previous International Drone Network events, but no specific government contracts or serial procurement deals have been officially announced. The aircraft, therefore, sits in an interesting position: technically mature, packaged as mission-ready, yet still competing for formal selection in a crowded European tactical VTOL market that includes both domestic and imported systems.
