Harmattan AI

Defense Tech · Autonomous Drones · Aerospace

Launch

Harmattan AI unveils IRIFI, a GPS-free strike drone with 2,000km range

It aims to close the gap between cheap, disposable drones and costly precision missiles that militaries can't produce at scale.

• Harmattan AI unveiled IRIFI on October 6, 2026, an autonomous deep-strike drone claimed to hit targets up to 2,000km away, marking the French startup's entry into long-range strike weapons.
• Founded in Paris in April 2024, Harmattan AI had built its business on smaller attack and surveillance drones, including a 5,000-unit Delco order from France's defense procurement agency DGA.
• IRIFI is designed to fly an entire mission without human control after launch, using GNSS-independent navigation and camera-based terminal guidance for meter-level accuracy.
• The system fires from a mobile canisterized launcher and is built for rapid, large-scale deployment, but Harmattan AI has disclosed no payload, speed, cost or test data.
• The unveiling comes nine months after Dassault Aviation led a $200M Series B in January 2026 that valued Harmattan AI at $1.4B, part of roughly $242M raised since 2024.
• Harmattan AI and Morocco signed a letter of intent at the Marrakech Air Show to co-develop a sovereign version of IRIFI, with Morocco named as the first customer.
• The push follows a February 2026 pact among six European nations, including France, to accelerate procurement of low-cost one-way strike drones with ranges above 500km.
• IRIFI reflects a broader shift in deep-strike warfare toward cheap, autonomous, mass-producible weapons that can keep operating when GPS and datalinks are jammed, challenging costlier legacy missile systems.