France Signs Agreement with Dassault Aviation to Develop VORTEX Spaceplane Demonstrator

French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu and Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier announced the signing of an agreement at the Paris Air Show to support the development of a spaceplane demonstrator named VORTEX (Véhicule Orbital Réutilisable de Transport et d’Exploration).

The VORTEX demonstrator marks the first phase in the development of a new family of reusable spaceplanes designed to support both military and civilian orbital missions. The initiative aims to advance France’s strategic capabilities in the space domain and address emerging demands within the global space economy.

According to Dassault Aviation, the demonstrator will validate critical performance areas including hypersonic flight, thermal protection systems, and precision flight control. These are considered key technological challenges in building a fully operational orbital platform.

Dassault Aviation noted that the roadmap is aligned with a dual-use approach, offering applications in transport to and from orbit, as well as autonomous space missions.

Dassault Aviation will leverage experience from past European space projects such as Hermès, the X-38, and the IXV, and apply its systems integration capabilities to accelerate development.