The Experimental French Military Aircraft That Was The First Of Its Kind To Fly In Europe – SlashGear

Even though signs point to an abandonment of the original project sometime in the mid-2000s, Dassault Aviation’s end goal was the establishment of a third generation, long-range UAV known as the “Grand Duc.” Further generations of the program evidently dissipated sometime after the AVE-C model (known as “Moyen Duc”) was completed, though that has not been confirmed. The original end goal of the LOGIDUC program was to implement a final UAV into the French arsenal by 2025, one that would have added long range stealth bombing — including nuclear capabilities — in an unmanned capacity for the French Air Force.

Even though the initial experimental designs never materialized into this final format, Dassault’s partnerships and efforts would eventually produce a different UAV development project, called the nEUROn program. This new effort would be a European research project aimed at developing unmanned flight across the continent, not just within the French Air Force. 

Dassault Aviation would be the prominent developer, but with the launch in February 2006, the governments of France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland all signed on to participate and help fund the project. Known test flights took place in 2012 and 2014.