The French Ministry of Armed Forces has launched the development of the unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) that will complement the French Air and Space Force’s (AAE’s) future Rafale F5-standard fighter after 2030.
The launch was announced on 8 October 2024 by Sébastien Lecornu, French Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs, at a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the French Strategic Air Forces (FAS) at Saint-Dizier Air Base in the presence of AAE Chief of Staff General Jérôme Bellanger and Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation Éric Trappier.
The UCAV will be complementary to the Rafale, suited to collaborative combat and will incorporate features such as stealth technologies, autonomous control (with man-in-the-loop) and an internal payload capacity.
“It will be highly versatile and designed to evolve in line with future threats,” Dassault stated in a press release.
The new UCAV will be derived from the achievements of the nEUROn programme, which was initiated in 2003 as Europe’s first stealth UCAV demonstrator with Dassault Aviation as the prime contractor. The nEUROn demonstrator, which featured a stealthy flying-wing design, first flew on 1 December 2012. Airbus Spain (formerly EADS-CASA), Hellenic Aerospace Industries, Italy’s Leonardo, Switzerland’s RUAG and Sweden’s Saab also participated in the project.
Trappier said of the new UCAV on 8 October, “This stealth combat drone will contribute to the technological and operational superiority of the French Air Force by 2033. It is significant that it is being initiated today, as we mark the 60th anniversary of the Strategic Air Forces and the 90th anniversary of the Air and Space Force: in aeronautics – a highly complex field – the future has deep roots, and innovation is built on experience. Dassault Aviation and its partners are proud to serve the French armed forces and the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA). Their renewed confidence honours and obliges us.”
A French Rafale fighter flying in formation with the nEUROn UCAV demonstrator, from which France’s new UCAV will be derived. (Photo: Dassault)