nEUROn European Stealth Drone ready for operational tests
This post is also available in: 
עברית (Hebrew)
After nearly a decade of design and development, the first full-size nEUROn unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator, is ready for operational tests.
Six European nations have coordinated on the UCAV’s development: France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and Greece. The French defense contractor, Dassault, is the largest contributor and responsible for the drone’s construction. The Italian company, Alenia Aermacchi, the second largest nEUROn participant, was in charge of the smart bomb bay, the electrical as well as other systems.
The nEUROn, 41-foot wide and weighing about 5 ton, has already passed a pair of initial trials since 2012. The first phase of tests in France included the opening of the weapons bay and evaluation of the Electro Optical sensor and datalink. The second phase focused on the assessment of the Infra Red and Electromagnetic signature of the aircraft in full stealth configuration.
The tests were successfully completed in February 2015, after which the UCAV technology demonstrator was disassembled and moved, as planned, to an airbase in Sardinia, Italy. Here it will undergo operational testing, before moving to Visdel, Sweden, for weapons trials.
According to The Aviationist the nEUROn loosely resembles the Northrop Grumman X-47B, and is now due for a series of tests designed to explore its whole flight envelope.
Aviation Week reports that when it debuted, in December 2012, the new UCAS marked the first flight of a European stealth aircraft as well as the first European UCAS. According to Dassault spokespeople “This success demonstrates Dassault Aviation’s ability to lead programs involving European cooperation,” and “stealth-related data and feedback will now serve as a reference for future aircraft projects.”
In the meantime, France and the U.K. continue work on a two-year feasibility study of a future combat air system (FCAS) that could pave the way for joint development of a stealthy UCAS led by Britain’s BAE Systems and France’s Dassault. The two nations announced plans to work together on an FCAS Demonstration Program in January 2014 and have already signed a memorandum of understanding outlining the terms of the €150 million study. Both nations are targeting a per-aircraft cost that will be lower than that of Dassault’sRafale combat jet and Britain’s Eurofighter Typhoon.
