Kepplair Evolution reaches a symbolic milestone with the first pre-modification flight of its prototype aircraft, marking the start of the KEPPLAIR 72 flight test programme

Communiqué de presse - 1st September 2026

Having arrived in Toulouse in early August, the first Kepplair Evolution ATR 72 prototype has just completed its first pre-modification flight, a key milestone that officially launches the test campaign for the KEPPLAIR 72, the future multi-role water bomber dedicated to civil protection.

Piloted by Eric Delesalle, the programme’s flight test director, a former chief pilot and test pilot at ATR, and Axel Valat, a test pilot at Aerotec & Concept, the aircraft – now bearing Kepplair Evolution’s livery – is thus commencing its flight test programme, with a view to certification in 2027. It completed two flights over Toulouse before being grounded until the end of the year whilst it is converted into a water bomber.

The aircraft will be fitted with the KEDS (Kepplair Evolution Delivery System) drop system, specially developed by Kepplair Evolution in collaboration with the Toulouse Institute of Fluid Mechanics (IMFT), Professor Dominique Legendre and Trotter Controls, the international benchmark in the design and manufacture of telemetry systems and drop doors for water-bombing aircraft.

The conversion and certification will be carried out by Aerotec & Concept – the European leader in aircraft modifications – which is already housing the aircraft in its hangar at Toulouse-Blagnac.

Test programme, certification and technical validation

Following a phase of drop tests carried out in the laboratory at the IMFT on a full-scale test rig, drop tests will continue in flight from January 2027 as part of an operational qualification programme designed to confirm the system’s performance under real-world conditions.
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Following the flight test programme, the KEPPLAIR 72 is expected to obtain, by 2027, the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) issued by EASA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. The certification will then be extended to other international authorities, including the FAA, the US Federal Aviation Administration.
The KEPPLAIR 72 is expected to be certified and enter service in 2027, offering civil security authorities a modern, robust and rapidly industrialisable European solution.

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