Alenia Aeronautica, Dassault Aviation and Saab are to co-operate on potential launch of a new European medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned air vehicle development programme.
The initiative is to be headed by Alenia, but will seek to engage wider European industrial involvement. Companies involved in the Dassault-led Neuron unmanned combat air vehicle programme are initially being targeted.
The new UAV effort is aimed at fielding a production ready system by 2011 at a development cost estimated by Alenia at between €400 million ($535 million) and €500 million.
The three founding companies signed a letter of agreement to launch co-operation during the show.
Government support from Italy, France and Sweden is acknowledged as being central to the success of the new programme. European Defence Agency support is also being pursued.
Luciano Fava, Alenia's senior vice-president of advanced projects, says the consortium plans to hold talks with the military in their home markets in a bid to co-ordinate timings for a common acquisition effort. The Dutch, Greek and Spanish armed forces are also seen as potential customers and efforts will be made to engage them in the co-ordination talks.
The involvement of Dassault is expected to provide a conduit for Thales participation, given links between those companies on Neuron, says Fava. Dassault and Thales announced plans during the show to co-operate on tactical UAV opportunities in Europe based on the UK Watchkeeper configuration of the Elbit Hermes 450.
Fava says that tie-up is seen by the consortium as complementary to the new MALE initiative.
Alenia's own newly unveiled Sky-Y and proposed Molynx MALE will support the co-operative effort, but will also continue in their own right. Sky-Y made its debut flight at Sweden's Vidsel test range 20 June.
Fava says that the new European MALE would be in the same class as the General Atomics Predator B, but represent a generational shift over that aircraft. "It is time to develop a new class," he says.
Source: Flight International
