Greece is France’s Second Partner for the UCAV Demonstrator

Greece is France’s Second Partner for the UCAV Demonstrator

(Source: French Ministry of Defence; issued Jan. 22, 2004)

(Issued in French only; unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com)

Ms. Michele Alliot-Marie, minister of defence, announced during the last Paris Air Show, in June 2003, the launch of a technology demonstrator program for an Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV).

Mr. Yves Gleizes, France’s head of defence procurement, and Mr. Spyros Travlos, secretary-general for financial planning and investments at the Hellenic defense ministry, on January 19 signed a Letter of Intent relative to Greece’s participation in this program.

Greece, which will take a substantial participation, is the second European country, after Sweden, to join this project.

Through this LOI, France and Greece not only demonstrate their will to maintain an autonomous European capability for the design of unmanned combat aircraft, but also illustrate their closer cooperation in the aerospace field.

The UCAV program remains open to cooperation and additional European partners, who have already shown significant interest, should soon join.

UCAV Program Background:

The French defence procurement agency, DGA, acting as the program’s executive agency, will this year award Dassault Aviation a contract for the design and manufacture of a technology demonstrator, for which a budget of 300 million euros has been earmarked. Its first flight is scheduled for 2008.

Greek industry, and notably Hellenic Aerospace Industry, will share in the design and production of the demonstrator, for which Dassault Aviation is the prime conractor.

This program is complementary to the European Technology Acquisition Program (ETAP) launched jointly by France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom with the goal of acquiring by 2020 the necessary technologies for aerial combat systems.