Dassault AVE Grand Duc
Full-scale stealth UCAV prototype cancelled in 2003.
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The Dassault AVE Grand Duc was the planned full-scale prototype of the French LOGIDUC program, intended to be a 5,000 kg stealth combat drone (UCAV). It was the third and final vehicle in a series of three stealth aerial vehicles, following the AVE-D Petit Duc and AVE-C Moyen Duc scale models. The Grand Duc was cancelled in 2003 and replaced by the European nEUROn project.
Quick Facts
- Program
- LOGIDUC
- Scale
- 1/1 (full-scale)
- Type
- Stealth combat drone (UCAV)
- Cancellation year
- 2003
- Replaced by
- nEUROn European project
Facts from the source article.
Background
The Dassault AVE Grand Duc was the culmination of the LOGIDUC program, a French autonomous industrial initiative launched in 1999 by Dassault Aviation to develop UAV design capacities. The program aimed to produce a fighter-sized stealth UCAV to support the Dassault Rafale in the 2010s and to design autonomous stealth fighters for the French Air Force circa 2025. The Grand Duc was to acquire full mission system representativity, composite pack airborne control, collaborative flight with drones and aircraft, and live air-to-ground weapon release.
Like the earlier Petit Duc and Moyen Duc, the Grand Duc was named after an owl species: Grand Duc is the French name for the eagle owl. The program's naming convention used 'Duc' (duke) as the French name for a nocturnal bird of prey, with Petit Duc for scops owl, Moyen Duc for long-eared owl, and Grand Duc for eagle owl. The Grand Duc never reached the flying stage; it was cancelled in 2003 and its objectives were folded into the European nEUROn project.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Dassault LOGIDUC (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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