nEUROn UCAV Demonstrator

nEUROn is a European unmanned combat air vehicle technology demonstrator launched in 2003, with the French defence procurement agency DGA acting as the single executive agency for France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Greece and Switzerland. Dassault Aviation is prime contractor, with Saab, Alenia, EADS CASA, Hellenic Aerospace Industries and RUAG as national industrial partners, and the development budget was set at about 400 million euros excluding tax, half of it from France. The demonstrator first flew in December 2012 and had made more than 170 test flights by 2024, including DGA trials alongside Rafale fighters and an E-3F AWACS reported in 2020. In October 2024 France cited the nEUROn experience when it notified the first development contracts for a stealth combat drone to accompany the Rafale F5.