Fransk/engelsk samarbeid kan ende opp i en bemannet FCAS

Anglo-French FCAS May Not Be Unmanned

by Guillaume Lecompte-Boinet and Chris Pocock

 - November 12, 2014, 8:00 AM

An artist’s concept from 2012 of the Anglo-French Future Combat Air System shows a UCAV, but a manned solution has not been ruled out. (Image: BAE Systems

A manned option for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) that is being studied by an Anglo-French industrial team has not been ruled out, according to British officials attending a formal launch of the $180 million two-year feasibility study in Paris on November 5. Bernard Gray, the UK MoD Chief of Defence Materiel, and Ian King, CEO of BAE Systems, each indicated that a piloted vehicle is still an option.

All previous indications and illustrations of the FCAS project have pointed to an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV), building on the experience gained by France on the pan-European Neuron demonstrator, and by the UK on the all-British Taranis demonstrator. Both these projects have yet to complete flying trials.

Although the two countries signed an “agreement” on FCAS at the Farnborough Airshow in July this year, the latest event at the headquarters of Dassault Aviation at St. Cloud was billed as the “industrial launch” of the project. Formal contracts have now been signed. BAESystems and Dassault Aviation are the main contractors, leading a team that also comprises Rolls-Royce, Snecma, Selex ES and Thales.