POLARIS Spaceplanes has partnered with German defence contractor Diehl Defence to develop the Airborne Launching and Attack System (AirLAS), arming an uncrewed POLARIS vehicle with an IRIS-T air-to-air missile.
Founded in 2019, POLARIS Spaceplanes has focused on developing its AURORA multipurpose spaceplane and hypersonic transport system. In 2024, Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) awarded the company funding to develop in-flight refuelling capabilities aimed at extending operational range and increasing payload capacity. While the project initially appeared to have limited relevance for space launch or hypersonic research, it offers clear advantages when the vehicle is configured as an air-to-air attack drone.
On 18 June, Diehl Defence announced that it had signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with POLARIS Spaceplanes to develop the AirLAS system during the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget. While few details were shared, images released with the announcement appear to show a 2.9-metre IRIS-T air-to-air missile strapped to the upper fuselage of the 5-metre-long MIRA II or MIRA III demonstrators, which the company began testing in late 2024.
While the MIRA II and MIRA III vehicles were initially expected to serve solely as testbeds for technologies destined for the larger AURORA spaceplane, the AirLAS agreement suggests that the MIRA platform could become POLARIS’s first commercial offering. This conclusion is supported by comments the company made in the announcement that it had closed an extension of its seed round.
In the 13 June update, the company revealed that the €5.3 million in additional funding would be used, in part, to “field” its “first serial product.” Given that the first flight test of AURORA is not expected before 2028, it appeared unlikely that the company was referring to it with these comments.
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Such a pity that this vehicle will be weaponised, although this was inevitable, all that has been achieved is yet another method to deal death and destruction to our fellow man. When will humanity mature sufficiently to reject mass killing as a political expedient?
I was also pretty sad when I saw the announcement. It makes sense for them, though.