Dassault Neuron
| Dassault Neuron | |
|---|---|
 Mock-up of a Neuron at the 2013 Paris Air Show |
|
| Type: | Stealth caps - combat drone |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
December 1, 2012 |
| Commissioning: |
In flight testing |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The Dassault Neuron (also "nEUROn") is an unmanned, independently operating stealth - combat drone . The project serves to demonstrate possible technology applications and is not aimed at series production . Dassault Neuron serves together with the BAE Taranis as a technology carrier for the Future Combat Air System .
development
In 1999 Dassault started its LOGIDUC stealth UCAV program on which the Neuron project is based. The first phase of the LOGIDUC program was the Dassault AVE-D Petit Duc. It is the first European stealth drone, which flew for the first time on July 18, 2000. This was followed a year later by the Dassault AVE-C Moyen Duc, which represents phase two of the LOGIDUC study. Both drones weighed less than 100 kg and had no payload capacity. The third phase, which was initially called "Grand Duc", was practically a pure scaling of the second phase to a size with sufficient performance for air-to-ground attacks. When this project became more expensive than initially planned, Dassault began looking for partner companies. The name of the third phase "Grand Duc" was changed to "Neuron", as it had a more European sound. However, it was not possible to win the hoped-for partners Great Britain and Germany for the project. Great Britain was already partially involved in the US UCAV programs. In addition, a very similar program, BAE Taranis, was already under development in Great Britain . Germany, on the other hand, was not prepared to share the financial risks.
consortium
Other European companies such as SAAB (Sweden), HAI (Greece), Alenia (Italy), EADS CASA (Spain) and RUAG Aviation (Switzerland) are participating in the 400 million euro project. The distribution of tasks in the production consortium, in addition to the tour through France, was divided as follows:
- Sweden ( Saab ), avionics , wind tunnel tests
- Italy ( Alenia ), weapons bay
- Greece ( Hellenic Aerospace Industry ), engine exhaust and aft fuselage segment
- Switzerland ( RUAG ), wind tunnel tests and payload suspension
- Spain ( EADS - CASA) , cell and ground control
During the Paris Air Show in 2003, French Defense Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie announced the formation of a joint venture between the French groups EADS France, Dassault Aviation and Thales Group . The aim is to research unmanned, military aviation technology that would be needed for the strategic requirements of the 21st century. As a result of the joint venture, EADS ' HALE study was integrated into Neuron development.
construction
The shape of the neuron is reminiscent of the Northrop B-2 bomber , which is also designed as a flying wing ; the engine inlet is on the top of the fuselage. As a UCAV, the Neuron has a significantly larger payload than other UAV systems such as the MQ-1 Predator . It is powered by a turbofan -Triebwerk Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour Mk. 951 . Compared to the US drones of the J-UCAS program - the X-45C Spiral and X-47B Pegasus - this enables the Neuron to perform significantly better. So far there is no information about the avionics of the Neuron. However, the requirements for this must be quite high in order to be able to carry out the required autonomous air-to-ground attacks with precision bombs.
Testing program
On January 19, 2012, the first prototype of the drone was officially presented. The first flight from the Istres Air Force Base took place on December 1, 2012. With the 100th flight on February 26, 2015, the French Ministry of Defense's state flight test program was completed. The radar reflective surface and the infrared signature of the aircraft were examined. The tests were completed in Italy and by September 2015 in Sweden in a further 23 flights. After the formation flight with a Rafale and a Falcon 7X was already tested in March 2014 , the drone was demonstrated in formation flight in a flight day in the French test center Istres in June 2016 at a height of 150 m at a speed of 350 km / h.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | - |
| length | 9.50 m |
| span | 12.50 m |
| height | |
| Empty mass | about 4500 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 6000-6500 kg |
| Top speed | 0.8 Mach |
| Service ceiling | |
| Range | |
| Engines | a Rolls-Royce Turboméca Adour Mk. 951; 28.89 kN |
| Armament | Drop weapons in internal bomb bay |
See also
literature
- Pierre Moschetti, Jean-Pierre Devaux: NEURON - The European UCAV Demonstrator. Translated into English and expanded by Nicolas von Kospoth; In: Military Technology. Edition 10/2004, p. 58.
Web links
- Neuron on the Dassault website (English)
- nEUROn UCAV Project Rolling Down the Runway (updated) ( Memento of October 24, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) In: Defense Industry Daily. October 17, 2006 (English).
- Henry S. Kenyon: Neuron Gains Altitude ( Memento from June 24, 2006 in the Internet Archive ), Signal Magazine, September 2005 (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Award of £ 120M Anglo-French defense co-operation contract. In: defense-aerospace.com. Defense Aerospace, November 5, 2014, accessed November 23, 2017 .
- ^ German Bundestag: Bundestag printed matter, electronic preliminary draft; BT-Drs. 17/12136, answer to question No. 21. (PDF; 96 kB) January 21, 2013, p. 11 , accessed on March 18, 2018 .
- ↑ Report on this in Flightglobal (English)
- ↑ Report on this in Flightglobal (English)
- ↑ Report on this in Flightglobal (English)
- ^ A b Claudio Müller: Airplanes of the World 2012 . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-613-03421-1 , p. 138 f .
- ↑ Europe enters stealth club with Neuron first flight. Flightglobal, December 1, 2012, accessed December 1, 2012 .
- ↑ KS: Dassault Neuron completes 100th flight. In: Flugrevue.de. March 15, 2015, accessed March 18, 2018 .
- ↑ KS: Dassault Neuron flies in front of an audience. In: Flugrevue.de. June 6, 2016, accessed March 18, 2018 .