posted on Nov, 19 2003 @ 12:35 AM
French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation has begun work on a new unmanned combat aerial vehicle(UCAV). Called the Gran Duc, it will be a larger
version of the previeously introduced 8 X 8-ft. Petit Duc protype.
Flight testing with the Petit Duc showed that the combined effects of a blended-wing, all composite airframe and an internal weapons bay would make
the UCAV stealthier than current American designs.
The UCAVs prmarily would be used to attack ground targets. An autonomous flight control system would fly them into and out of combat. Before combat,
human pilots would switch to automatic pilot. As their jets flew in a holding pattern miles away from enemy fire, the pilots would remotely command
the UCAV attacks.
Although the Gran Duc will be less sophisticated than designs now under development at Boeing Phantom Works and Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, European
aviation executives tell PM it will be very attractive to foreign militaries because it costs millions of dollars less.
This is all the info I found about these two Ducs.
Please help find more.
Make this as a small Weaponary research project.(unoffical)
Thank You