Please can any one ID this plane?

Hi folks.

Just a quick question about an aircraft that I found whilst just skimming through the web. Heres the link to it;

img352.imageshack.us...

and would love it if any one could ID it for me. Much appreciated.

Neuron ucav demonstrator.

Thank you for the u2u explaining it with the link to that web site.

Much appreciated.

interesting, at first i thought it might be a b-2 spirit, or an f117 nighthawk, but looking at photos it doesnt apear to be either.

unless the angle just makes it look funny.

Originally posted by D4rk Kn1ght
Neuron ucav demonstrator.

case closed lol.

At first I thought it could be the X-47B but it is actually CGI footage of the original Neuron design (as is evident by the exhaust and outline of the aircraft). Below is a picture of the original Neuron UCAV design.



This is picture of the redesigned (intended to be) production model of the Neuron UCAV.



As you can see the two designs are quite different and it is quite apparent which one is in the OP's picture.

Also, according to my information the Neuron (in any variant) has not yet flow, flight tests are schedules for circa 2010, right now it's sill in development.

Here:

www.air-defense.net...

It’s the Dassault AVE-C (also referred to as Petit Duc C) which was developed under the LogiDuc programme and first flown in June 2003. It’s a development of the AVE-D (Petit Duc) and shares the same intake, landing gear and engine configurations as that aircraft but with a different wing and tailless configuration; most sources put it at the same size as the original Petit Duc.

While the AVE-D was designed to validate signature reduction measures the C version was developed to demonstrate unstable yaw control. Whether Dassault made any attempt at reducing the vehicles signature as they did with the AVE-D is unknown.

It was to be followed by the Moyen and Grand Duc U(C)AVs but the launch of Neuron changed these plans.

Wingspan – 2.4m
Length – 2.4 m
Weight (Empty) – 35 kg
MTOW – 60 kg
Power Plant –2x gas turbine (likely AMT Olympus)
Max Speed – 600 kph
Launch Method(s) – Conventional runway
Recovery Method(s) – Conventional runway


Westpoint, just a minor point; Neuron isn’t intended to go into production, in fact the programme won’t aspire to meet any operational requirements beyond the basics such as “achieve low observability” etc.

The design has also been changed since the mock-up was displayed, it looks externally the same but it has increased slightly in size for example.

Ah, so it's another AC, thanks for the info Mike but I must say it bears a striking resemblance to the original Neuron design.

Originally posted by Mike_A
Westpoint, just a minor point; Neuron isn't intended to go into production, in fact the programme won't aspire to meet any operational requirements beyond the basics such as "achieve low observability" etc.

So, they will only build experimental flight worthy vehicle to conduct LO tests on them? Interesting, I thought it would at least enter limited production.

It won’t just test LO features, it’ll demonstrate a number of technologies and concepts pertinent to unmanned combat systems but they won’t conform to any specific operational concept.

The first few pictures of “Neuron” were really just rehashed concept pics of the Grand Duc design which was originally to be a French only development based on the two Petit Duc aircraft. Hence it looking like “Neuron”.

There’s a good article on Neuron in this weeks Aviation Week.

www.aviationnow.com.../aw010807p2.xml

Thanks for that Mike-A, very interesting article, and I had a look at the linkie in your Sig, and i have got to say thats a cool site.

Cheers dude.

Thanks, that’s just a beta version though, hopefully a proper version will be online within the next few months but I’m still looking for a webmaster able to devote the time to it.