Tatra, India - All Terrain Vehicles for Indian Armed Forces
Neuron
1.
2. Introduction
The Dassault nEUROn is an experimental Unmanned Combat Air
Vehicle (UCAV) being developed with international cooperation,
led by the French company Dassault Aviation.
This flying wing stealth UCAV project is the final phase of the
French Dassault LOGIDUC 3-step stealth "combat drone"
programme.
Until June 2005 it had the form of the original Dassault developed
Grand Duc vehicle: supersonic two-engined long-range
unmanned bomber, capable of performing attacks with nuclear
weapons.
3.
4. Aim
The aim of the nEUROn programme is to demonstrate the maturity and the effectiveness of
technical solutions, but not to perform military missions.
The main technological challenges addressed during the design phase of the nEUROn are:
The shapes of the air vehicle (aerodynamic, innovative composite structure, and internal
weapon bay),
The technologies related to low observability issues,
The insertion of this type of aircraft within the test area,
The high-level algorithms necessary to the development of the automated processes,
As well as the place of the human factor within the mission loop.
The last, but certainly not the least, important technology to be demonstrated is the
capability to carry and deliver weapons from an internal bay.
Today, European aircraft are designed with external loading capabilities for bombs and
missiles.
5.
6. Goals
The performance of an air-to-ground mission based on the
detection, localization, and reconnaissance of ground targets in
autonomous modes,
The evaluation of the detection results of a stealth platform
facing ground or aerial threats, in terms of radar cross section
and infrared signature,
The weapon release from an internal bay, with the very stringent
tempo constraints of a fast decision loop.
7.
8. Platform
As a UCAV, nEUROn will be significantly larger and more advanced than
other well-known UAV systems like the MQ-1 Predator, with ranges, payloads
and capabilities that approach those of manned fighter aircraft.
Indeed, Saab's February 9, 2006 release notes that nEUROn will be a
demonstrator measuring 10 m long by 12 m wide and weighing in at 5 tons.
The aircraft will have unmanned autonomous air-to-ground attack
capabilities with precision guided munitions, relying on an advanced stealth
airframe design to penetrate undetected.
Another feature being contemplated is the ability of grouping the nEUROns
and controlling the group in a manner similar to many combat real-time
strategy computer games.
9.
10. Specifications
Crew: 0
Length: 9.5 m (31 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 12.5 m (41 ft 0 in)
Empty weight: 4900 kg (10803 lb)
Gross weight: 7000 kg (15432 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce/Snecma M88, 40 kN (8992 lbf) thrust each
Maximum speed: 980 km/h (608 mph) km/h ( mph)
Service ceiling: 14,000 m (45900 ft)
