RCH170 is a fixed-wing airframe with foldable tandem wings (a forward and rear wing pair), designed to be transported and launched from a canister — currently a catapult, with MBDA planning a tube/container launch method similar to its Akeron LP missile.^2,4 Reported takeoff weight is 16-18 kg, of which roughly 2 kg is a shaped-charge warhead over 100 mm in diameter, sized for effect against armored vehicles rather than the smaller, fragmentation-oriented charge used on the short-range RCX50.^2,4,7

Performance figures reported by Delair at SOFINS 2025 (Gironde, France, 1-3 April 2025) were a 50 km range and 60-minute endurance; MBDA's own materials describe a longer range of up to roughly 70-80 km with "more than an hour" of endurance.^1,2,7 Guidance uses a man-in-the-loop control concept, with engagement modes MBDA describes as including fire-and-forget, lock-on-before-launch (LOBL), and lock-on-after-launch (LOAL), the latter enabling beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) strikes.¹ The system carries a reversible safe-and-arming unit, allowing an aborted mission to be recovered rather than requiring self-destruction, an option MBDA has said will be left to individual customers.²

RCH170 traces its origin to MUTANT, a modular airframe developed by Delair under France's Project Larinae, a Defence Innovation Agency (AID) requirement issued in May 2022 for a long-range (50 km-class) munition able to defeat armored targets.^2,8 Reporting on MUTANT flight trials describes two derivative configurations sharing that base platform: a lighter RCH140 (reported around 10 kg, tested achieving strikes beyond 50 km) and the heavier RCH170 covered in this article.^6,7 A DGA-announced test campaign at the Biscarrosse missile test center on France's Atlantic coast, publicized around 18 July 2025, validated the MUTANT-based munition's ability to strike both moving and stationary targets using inertial navigation rather than GNSS, a design choice aimed at operating in jammed environments.^6,9

The Akeron RCH170 stems from two parallel French Defence Innovation Agency (AID) programs launched via a May 2022 request for proposals: Project Colibri, a short-range (5 km) requirement that produced the Akeron RCX50 with Novadem, and Project Larinae, a longer-range (50 km-class) requirement addressing armored targets, which produced the Delair-partnered airframe underlying RCH170.^1,8 By March 2023, the AID had selected proposals across both projects, with MBDA teaming with Delair for the longer-range concept.¹

MBDA displayed an early, then-unnamed prototype of the loitering munition at Eurosatory 2024 (Paris), mounted in a four-round canister on an Arquus Sherpa 4x4 light vehicle alongside Akeron LP missile canisters; the munition was not yet publicly identified as RCH170 at that show.⁴ MBDA and Delair formally unveiled the RCH170 name and specifications, together with the RCX50, at SOFINS 2025, the Special Operations Forces innovation exhibition held in Gironde, southwest France, from 1 to 3 April 2025.^1,2

Flight testing of RCH170 against static and mobile targets was planned for summer 2025 at the DGA's Biscarrosse missile test center on France's Atlantic coast, the site the agency selected for medium-range system trials.^1,2 A related DGA-publicized test campaign involving the MUTANT-based munitions, reported around 18 July 2025, confirmed successful strikes on moving and stationary targets; French coverage at the time noted the French Army's potential future acquisition of on the order of 2,000 units across the MUTANT-derived family, subject to further 2025-2026 test campaigns and a unit-cost target reported at under €200,000.^6,9 As of Eurosatory 2026 (Paris, June 2026), MBDA said it was arranging with an unnamed civilian manufacturer to mass-produce RCH170 (and potentially its Deluge one-way-effector munition) contingent on securing larger production contracts, according to remarks by Hugo Coqueret, MBDA's battlefield business development manager, reported by Shephard Media.⁵ Separately, MBDA signed a DGA experimentation contract for the sibling RCX50 system in June 2026; no equivalent RCH170-specific contract announcement was identified for this article.¹⁰

Within MBDA's own Akeron family, RCH170 and the RCX50 were developed to cover different engagement zones rather than compete directly: RCX50 is a small (roughly 1.3-7 kg reported across sources) quadcopter built for a 5 km "contact zone" against dismounted troops and light vehicles, while RCH170 is a larger, fixed-wing, 16-18 kg system built for a 50 km-class "fire support zone" against armored vehicles, using a shaped charge more than 100 mm in diameter versus RCX50's roughly 500 g charge.^1,2,4,7 MBDA Akeron RCX50 covers that shorter-range sibling in detail.

Against non-French systems in the broader medium-range fixed-wing loitering-munition category, RCH170's reported 50 km range and 60-minute endurance are broadly comparable to the AeroVironment Switchblade 600, which AeroVironment markets with a similar endurance envelope and anti-armor warhead; French coverage of RCH170's Project Larinae sibling MUTANT has explicitly framed the French program as a domestic alternative to Switchblade 600 for that reason.⁶ Because RCH170 has not yet completed a production contract or entered service, any capability comparison remains provisional pending confirmed, independently verified performance data.

MASS Assessment

RCH170's ten MASS components read almost as a mirror image of its sibling RCX50, reflecting a genuinely different design brief — anti-armor "fire support," not close-range anti-personnel work.

Lethality (85) and precision (85), the highest of any system in this batch alongside Fire Point's FP-2, come from a 2 kg shaped-charge warhead exceeding 100 mm in diameter, backed by fire-and-forget, lock-on-before-launch, lock-on-after-launch, and beyond-line-of-sight engagement modes — a versatile targeting suite for a system that has not yet reached production. Range (68) and loiter endurance (70) reflect a disclosed 50 km range and roughly 60-minute endurance, second only to Anduril's much larger ALTIUS-700M in this batch, consistent with RCH170's Delair Mutant XL-derived airframe built for a "fire support zone" role rather than close-range work.

Autonomy (40) is deliberately the lowest of RCH170's components, and the reason is explicit in its own specifications: unlike Bolt-M or ALTIUS-700M, RCH170 is not built for autonomous flight or AI-assisted terminal attack — it is a man-in-the-loop remote-controlled munition by design, trading autonomy for the direct human confirmation MBDA's own materials emphasize for a weapon meant to defeat armor. Portability (70) reflects an 18 kg airframe: heavier than the quadcopter designs in this batch but still well short of a vehicle-dependent munition. Sensors (65) and counter-measure resistance (60) sit in the middle of the range because MBDA's public materials disclose fire-control modes without detailing the underlying sensor package, leaving genuine uncertainty. Technology (78) reflects the credibility of the shared Delair/MBDA "MUTANT" airframe program rather than any single standout feature.

Cost-effectiveness (68) and the separate 75/100 overall price-performance rating shown in the sidebar move together here, both reflecting a system whose disclosed anti-armor performance justifies its price relative to cheaper, less capable rivals, even though it remains pre-production.

What is the MBDA Akeron RCH170? It is a fixed-wing loitering munition under development by MBDA and Delair for the French DGA's medium/long-range requirement, distinct from both the in-service Akeron MP anti-tank missile and the smaller Akeron RCX50 loitering munition.^1,2

Is the Akeron RCH170 in service? No. As of mid-2026 it remains a pre-production system that has completed flight testing; production is targeted for late 2026 pending a French Armed Forces contract that has not been publicly confirmed.^1,5

What does "RCH170" mean? "RC" denotes remotely controlled ammunition; "170" is the airframe length in centimeters; "H" is reported to describe the tandem-wing shape as seen from above.^2,4

How does the RCH170 differ from the RCX50? RCX50 is a small quadcopter with roughly 5 km range built against dismounts and light vehicles; RCH170 is a larger fixed-wing system with a reported 50 km-class range and a heavier, over-100mm shaped-charge warhead built against armored vehicles.^1,2,4