Prototype of European combat drone makes maiden flight

PARIS:A prototype of a European combat drone, the Neuron, made its maiden flight Saturday from a base in the south of France, project leader Dassault Aviation announced.

"It inaugurates the next generation of combat aircraft, whether piloted or not, with the ambition of preserving European autonomy in this field," the French defence ministry said in a statement.

"It's a major accomplishment on both the technological and industrial
levels," it added.

The aircraft, which has no vertical tail in order to make it as furtive as
possible, flew for 25 minutes under the watch of two test pilots based on the ground.

The Neuron is a prototype, or model serving to test and develop
technologies that could be used one day in a pilotless fighter plane which would equip European air forces around 2030.

The programme, launched by France in 2003 with support from Italy, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and Greece, cost 406 million euros ($527 million), of which France contributed about half.

Drones currently in service are used as surveillance planes or in surgical strike missions, but none rival the tasks performed by combat aircraft.