France-Germany-Spain Future Combat Air System (FCAS / SCAF / FSAC)

More seriously, it seems French MoD has already ordered the UCAS recently and the priority is with the FAS (Nuclear forces) since it is increasingly blatant that the combo Rafale + Fat 330 can't do the mission any more longer (but does even the 330 can do NoE flying without playing Little Thumb with its rivets and engines?)....

Le Rafale au standard F5 aura la capacité d'être accompagné par un drone de combat furtif opéré depuis son bord.

Les premières commandes ont été notifiées aux industriels il y a quelques semaines.
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The Rafale with the F5 standard will have the capacity to be accompanied by a stealth combat drone operated from its board.

The first orders were notified to manufacturers a few weeks ago.
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In the background, I hope that someone, aside of me, would be interested by the exclusive sale/handover of the remaining C-135 before this was announced. I have never heard exclusive handover of State Assets months before the reason behind was revealed to the public (and before Mr Macron became president to say the least). MoD is no Wall street but still... Today, that sounds awfully strange.
 
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TomcatViP said:
More seriously, it seems French MoD has already ordered the UCAS recently and the priority is with the FAS (Nuclear forces) since it is increasingly blatant that the combo Rafale + Fat 330 can't do the mission any more longer (but does even the 330 can do NoE flying without playing Little Thumb with its rivets and engines?)....


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Sébastien Lecornu on LinkedIn: « Agir en n’importe quel point du monde. » La crédibilité de notre… | 23 comments

« Agir en n’importe quel point du monde. » La crédibilité de notre dissuasion nucléaire repose sur cette vision du général de Gaulle. Plusieurs générations… | 23 comments on LinkedIn
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In the background, I hope that someone, aside of me, would be interested by the exclusive sale/handover of the remaining C-135 before this was announced. I have never heard exclusive handover of State Assets months before the reason behind was revealed to the public (and before Mr Macron became president to say the least). MoD is no Wall street but still... Today, that sounds awfully strange.
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Yes. And that is a very bad prospect for SCAF.
 
But CAF isn't due until 2045 so some kind of interim solution is required, might as well have a new UCAV in 2033 than wait another 12 years.
(Even 2033 is slow work when you consider Neuron was 2012 and all the work on equivalent systems around the world since then).
 
Hood said:
But CAF isn't due until 2045 so some kind of interim solution is required, might as well have a new UCAV in 2033 than wait another 12 years.
(Even 2033 is slow work when you consider Neuron was 2012 and all the work on equivalent systems around the world since then).
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And its not like EF Tranche 5 and LTE wont happen which may also contain an UCAV for some countries (maybe only for EW but then again doesn't matter).
 
www.twz.com

Stealthy Uncrewed Combat Air Vehicle To Work Alongside Future French Rafale Fighters

The advanced drone will pull from experience with the nEUROn stealth demonstrator and is seen as essential to executing high-end future missions. France is the latest country to launch a program to field a stealthy UCAV designed to work closely with crewed fighters from the 2030s.
www.twz.com www.twz.com

www.defensenews.com

France kicks off development of wingman drone for Rafale fighter jet

The stealthy wingman drone will be operated directly from the Rafale cockpit, the Armed Forces Ministry said.
www.defensenews.com www.defensenews.com
 
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View: https://youtu.be/piyW9Yma4wA


-1H48'40": Spain, Germany and France summit in December 2024, during which the demonstrator (probably model or 3D images) will be shown for the first time.
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View: https://youtu.be/z2N7UjGhNfc


-1H25'45": FCAS: Summit in December 2024; presentation of the demonstrator; Spain, Germany, France; ability to decide on the principles of the program for the future with political questions: export, but also operational questions: what the plane looks like, its weight, its capabilities to correspond well to the needs of French deterrence for the FAS, to be able to land on an aircraft carrier if necessary.
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Surprising, given that it was indicated in November 2023:
breakingdefense.com

FCAS weighing 4 fighter designs, could make final choice by March 2025 - Breaking Defense

"There is a good working atmosphere and the deliverables are being delivered," Major General Jean-Luc Moritz said of the French-German-Spanish future fighter system project.
breakingdefense.com breakingdefense.com

Major General Jean-Luc Moritz, who leads the French segment of the trilateral effort, also known by its French acronym SCAF, told reporters Thursday that he expects to downselect to two designs (among four) by June 2024 and have a final design in hand “by” March of 2025.
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Maro.Kyo said:
www.flightglobal.com

French air force will field operational UCAV from 2033

France will field an operational unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) from 2033, with the future system to draw on Dassault Aviation's experience with leading Europe's Neuron technology demonstration programme last decade.
www.flightglobal.com www.flightglobal.com
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ukdefencejournal.org.uk

Britain and Germany to develop combat drones together

As part of the newly signed Trinity House Agreement, the UK and Germany are set to collaborate on the development of advanced drones that will work alongside fighter jets.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk ukdefencejournal.org.uk

Oh wait, it seems like this comes as a response to the new Trinity House agreement with the UK published today. I'll make a separate thread for it since it covers a vast amount of new agreements for arms procurement, not just UAS, but now it makes ton of sense.

Now I wonder where Italy and Spain fits in though.
 
Maro.Kyo said:
ukdefencejournal.org.uk

Britain and Germany to develop combat drones together

As part of the newly signed Trinity House Agreement, the UK and Germany are set to collaborate on the development of advanced drones that will work alongside fighter jets.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk ukdefencejournal.org.uk

Oh wait, it seems like this comes as a response to the new Trinity House agreement with the UK published today. I'll make a separate thread for it since it covers a vast amount of new agreements for arms procurement, not just UAS, but now it makes ton of sense.

Now I wonder where Italy and Spain fits in though.
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Probaly join given that it will be compatible with EF LTE, FCAS and GCAP. Everyone can use it and get a piece of the pie. Just don't repeat the EF fun
 
Everyone can remember what happened to the EF back in the 1980s can't they? History should not repeat itself, the countries involved should think back so it cannot and should not happen again.
 
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Hicks said:
This documentary has already been re-run several times, I'm not even sure if this note on the Dassault website dates from the first broadcast.
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It is a 2024 documentary produced by Golden Light Productions, on behalf of the French channel RMC Découverte.

I hadn't seen it yet. So I didn't know the last part with the NGF-FCAS/SCAF. Thanks for sharing.
 
red admiral said:
MBDA doing a great job of reinventing NSM
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Yeah in the end its a smaller JSM/NSM but im not against it. If we can fit for in an MFOM Pod nice but don't but it in a VLS. Use thoses god damn pods you designed which are very close to the size of an NSM canister.
 
dark sidius said:
European air force have no direction and no money to drive any new fighter program, soon our Air Force will look like a third world AIr Force.
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I understand the goal of the remote carrier and am all for it but the idea with the VLS is just stupid. It can't help fighters with its puny range and also isnt as good as existing strike weapons like Tomahawk if strike is the goal. An deck launched NSM like missile with land attack focus? Sure. Something you can use in 3 Services? Yes but please use it right. Another question i have is if this will replace the JFS-M design for both the Remote Carrier part and as extended MLRS munition as MBDA's offer?
 
kqcke for you said:
"For range is an important issue for the New Generation Fighter, but the three nations involved in the FCAS project have not yet agreed on a common architecture, probably not least because the partners have different needs."
https://twitter.com/x/status/1862126702610006390
View: https://x.com/hartpunkt/status/1862126702610006390
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A article from CPM going a little bit into more details about FCAS and some problems
Edit: https://defence-network.com/fcas-ngws-zukunftsprojekte-der-luftwaffe/
 

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