History of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles - International UCAV Development Efforts

International UCAV Development Efforts

There is considerable interest in UCAVs elsewhere, but so far matters have not advanced as far as they have in the US. The British displayed a concept UCAV designated "Proteus", of no relation to the Scaled Composites Proteus. It was essentially a reusable cruise missile, with a long chisel-shaped fuselage with a hexagonal cross section, pop-out forward-swept wings, and triangular tailfins. It was apparently to be recovered by parachute and can carry a number of different warloads.

The Swedish government has worked with the SAAB company to perform studies for a UCAV designated "SHARC", for "Swedish Highly Advanced Research Configuration". The study project was initiated in the late 1990s, and nine different configurations were considered, leading to selection of a single design. Low-speed wind tunnel tests were conducted in 1999, and included drop tests of plausible munitions fits from the SHARC's internal weapons bays. This was followed by a secret flight test of a subscale demonstrator in early 2002.

The French Dassault firm has flown a subscale model of a stealthy UAV, designated the "Aeronef de Validation Experimentale (Experimental Air Vehicle / AVE", or "Petit DUC (Little Demonstrator UAV)". The AVE is intended to demonstrate Dassault's expertise in stealthy aircraft design, and could lead to UCAVs, reconnaissance UAVs, and high-speed expendable targets.

First flight of the Petit DUC was in July 2000. The Petit DUC is a manta-ray-like black diamond of an aircraft, with twin tails and an engine intake on the back of the aircraft. It has retractable tricycle landing gear and is powered by twin AMT engines. Wingspan and length are both 2.4 meters (7.9 ft), empty weight is 35 kilograms (77 pounds), loaded weight is 60 kilograms (132 pounds), operational radius is about 150 kilometers (93 mi), and top speed is about 600 km/h (350 mph).

The Petit Duc was to be followed by a "Moyen (Medium) DUC" demonstrator, and then a "Grand DUC" demonstrator. However, in late 2004 the direction of the effort changed somewhat. The French DGA defense procurement agency initiated a government effort to fly a UCAV demonstrator by 2008 and stated that a contract would be awarded to Dassault in early 2004. This led to interest from a number of European countries, including Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, and Greece, in creating a joint effort with France to develop an operational UCAV, named "Neuron". Germany is interested but has not moved to sign up just yet.