France Launches Neuron UCAV Naval Test Campaign

The French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) has launched new campaign of flight tests of the NEURON Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) technology demonstrator.

The first flight took place today at Istres. The DGA Flight Test Center will oversee this campaign one of whose objectives is to study the use of a UCAV in a naval context. The campaign includes sea trials onboard the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. It will be followed by an electromagnetic signature measurement campaign carried out until early 2017, DGA said in a statement Tuesday.

NEURON foreshadows the next generation of combat aircraft. Launched in 2006, the project is a European cooperation that brings together, in addition to France with Dassault Aviation, five countries and their industrial partners: Italy (Alenia Aermacchi), Sweden (Saab), Spain (Airbus Defence & Space) , Greece (HAI) and Switzerland (RUAG). The DGA provides the project management of the project and Dassault Aviation as prime contractor.

The first test campaign NEURON, conducted on behalf of the six nations between December 2012 and September 2015 included 123 flights. They were first made in Istres for the opening of its flight envelope, the development of the system and the evaluation of its stealth by the DGA.

The NEURON was demonstrated for its performance optronic sensor and its detection algorithms and automatic target recognition, and stealth tests in favor of the Italian Ministry of Defence.