Presentation of the nEUROn to the government representatives

The nEUROn, European UCAV technology demonstrator, has been officially presented to the representatives of the six participating countries by Mr. Charles Edelstenne, Chairman & CEO of Dassault Aviation.

Mr. Serge Dassault, Honorary Chairman of the company, as well as the representatives of the nEUROn industrial team - Saab (Sweden), Alenia Aermacchi (Italy), EADS-CASA (Spain), HAI (Greece) and RUAG (Switzerland) - attended this ceremony.

This presentation is a major milestone after five years of design, development, production, assembly and the first static tests of the nEUROn demonstrator. The first engine tests will be performed very soon, aiming at a first flight mid-2012. Afterwards, a complete sequence of test flights will take place during two years in France, Sweden and Italy. These tests will address flight qualities, stealthiness, air-to-ground weapon firing from an internal bay, integration into a C4i environment as well as the insertion of uninhabited platform in airspace.

The National Armament Directors - or their representatives - of the six participating countries (France, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Greece and Switzerland) have been able to see for the first time this demonstrator that represents a triple "first" for the aerospace industries of European countries: first stealth combat aircraft, first UCAV developed in co-operation and first combat aircraft entirely designed and developed on a virtual plateau.

Launched at the initiative of the French Ministry of Defense in 2003, the nEUROn program has two aims:

-- to develop the technologies critical to tomorrow's combat aircraft;

-- to validate an innovative co-operation model, that optimizes the respective know-hows of the participating industries under the leadership of a single recognized and accepted main contractor.

During a brief speech, Mr. Charles Edelstenne said that it is now up to the Governments to think about a follow-up to nEUROn, in order to use at the best the experience gained during five years of development work.