nEUROn Returns on development of Future Air Combat System.

The French defense procurement agency, DGA, has revealed that Dassault Aviation’s Neuron unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator has completed a fifth round of flight tests to inform future decisions about the FCAS program.

nEUROn stealth combat drone technology demonstrator (Picture source: Dassault Aviation)

A new flight-test campaign by the nEUROn stealth combat drone technology demonstrator has just been completed by DGA Flight Tests.

Requested by the Directorate-General of Armaments (DGA), this fifth campaign to benefit the French State was carried out in cooperation with Dassault Aviation for the operation of the air vehicle, with the participation of the services. One of its objectives was to study the use of a stealth combat drone in an operational context, including possible defensive tactics against such an air vehicle.

In close synergy with the Military Air Expertise Center (CEAM) and the Air Force’s Airborne Detection and Control Squadron (EDCA), a test flight in a collaborative combat atmosphere was notably carried out with five Rafales, an AWACS aircraft and the nEUROn demonstrator, in multiple tactical configurations.

This latest campaign brings extremely rich lessons in the field of stealth and related advanced technologies. The results are undergoing in-depth analysis, conducted jointly by several DGA centers of test and expertise.

They will generate major elements that will guide future choices for the architecture and the technologies of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS).