Aura Aero Eyes Military Training Contract For Integral S

Aura Aero is expanding its defense-focused activities, with two major milestones expected within the coming months. Speaking at the recent Aero Friedrichshafen show, the French aircraft manufacturer revealed that a potential European military contract for its two-seat Integral S trainer later this year. Its Enbata medium altitude long endurance (MALE) drone is also on track to make its first flight by the end of 2026.

Aura Aero CEO and co-founder Jérémy Caussade told a press conference that upcoming EASA certification of Integral S could unlock a significant military training contract. Although the model is being marketed across the flight training role, including to flying clubs and as a UPRT-capable airframe, he confirmed to AIN that this concerns a defense-specific application.

Although no further details have been confirmed, the projected timeline would fit in with Project Telum being pursued by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). This was initiated in September 2025 to replace the ageing Grob 115E (designated Tutor Mk1 in RAF service), which has been used for UK military training requirements since 1999.

UK officials intend to publish a formal tender this October. In an initial document, they committed to encouraging and supporting small, and medium-sized enterprises.

The UK MoD’s Light Aircraft Flying Task (LAFT) is currently delivered by contractor Babcock International, which owns, manages and maintains a fleet of 91 Grob Tutors. Babcock was awarded an interim four-year contract extension in April 2026. Project Telum’s new aircraft contract is estimated to run from April 2030 to March 2045.

Integral S is the tricycle-gear variant of Aura Aero’s two-seat, aerobatically-capable trainer family. Its Integral R tailwheel-configured sibling received EASA CS-23 certification in December 2024, while an all-electric E – to be available in either configuration – is targeting a 2027 entry into service. The manufacturer believes the side-by-side layout, cockpit comfort, and aerobatic capability makes the Integral family particularly suited to the training role.  

Aura Aero’s Enbata drone is also on track to make its first flight later this year, with Aura Aero one of five manufacturers tasked in 2025 by France’s defense procurement agency to develop a MALE drone. “The goal is to bring in a solution where today there is no sovereign solution,” stated Caussade.

However, much like the Integral family, Enbata has also been designed to bridge both civilian and military applications. “It’s about balancing the two capabilities so we can be useful to our armed forces and the economic players who will operate our aircraft,” he suggested.