The Directorate Générale de l'Armement announces that the 6 last July ended the first sea trials of the technological demonstrator nEUROn. The drone performed training flights with the Flurry taken off from Charles de Gaulle. nEUROn he performed grazing flights over the carrier, but the UCAV did not land on the nuclear-powered French aircraft carrier.
Il nEUROn is the European technological demonstrator for a UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) developed by an industrial team led by Dassault Aviation with the collaboration of Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi, Saab, Airbus Defense and Space, RUAG and HAI. Sea trials began last May and were part of planned activities to assess drone performance in joint naval operations.
The next checks, at least the official ones, will take place in the first months of the 2017 in Bruz, in western France. For the latter there is much anticipation: they will have to assess, in fact, the low observability performance of the platform against real enemies.
The first phase of flight tests took place from December of the 2012 to September of the 2015. nEUROn he flew for 123 times first in France, then in Italy and, finally, in Sweden. The six nations that support the program are France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Dassault Aviation is the prime contractor with the subcontractors Airbus Defense & Space for Spain, Alenia for Italy, Hellenic Aerospace Industry for Greece, RUAG for Switzerland and Saab for Sweden.
During the Italian redevelopment at the Decimomannu Air Force base, in Sardinia, nEUROn has successfully carried out 12 flights, at different heights and profiles and against fixed and mobile threats, which would have confirmed the reduced infrared signature of the platform.
(photo: Dassault Aviation)
