France and Britain May Develop Joint Combat UAV

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In the meantime, Britain and France are on track to decide next year whether to jointly develop an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) following the submission of program proposals by BAE Systems and Dassault Aviation, according to Defense News.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

Meanwhile, in the medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) drone sector, where the two sides have also considered cooperating, France is seen as stalling on buying 10 more interim MALE UAVs. The British, however, have said that a future variant of General Atomics’ Reaper and international cooperation are among the options being considered to meet long-term needs out to 2030.

BAE and Dassault recently completed a 15-month preparation phase contract awarded by the British and French defense ministries and have lodged details of a plan to mature and demonstrate critical technology and operational aspects for a future unmanned combat air system. The proposals are scheduled for consideration during a mid-December meeting between the British defense procurement minister Philip Dunne and his French counterpart, Laurent Collet-Billon.