France plans to test fighter jets with combat drones in 2028 — Defense News
The French Air and Space Force plans to conduct a full-scale test in 2028 of fighter jets operating alongside combat drones. The test will be part of the Hypairion project, under which France is developing an open modular architecture for combat aviation and artificial intelligence technologies under state control. Defense News reports.
The project involves the French Air and Space Force, the General Directorate for Armament and the Ministerial Agency for Defense Artificial Intelligence, Amiad. According to Colonel Cédric, head of the Air Force capability development office, Hypairion aims to create open and modular systems that will remain under state control. The project is also intended to reduce dependence on proprietary systems that limit the ability to modify sensors and weapons.
Tests on Mirage 2000
To test AI, the French military is upgrading two Mirage 2000 fighter jets at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base in southwestern France. The aircraft are being fitted with new computers that are expected to allow various technology-use scenarios to be tested by the end of the year.
At the initial stage, Hypairion does not provide for the creation of a ready combat capability. Specialists plan to assess, among other things, energy consumption and system interaction. Possible scenarios include using artificial intelligence to optimize flight routes and support tactical decisions on the use of air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons.
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The unmanned aerial vehicle scheduled to take part in the 2028 flight will be a test platform. It will not necessarily become the future accompanying drone for the Rafale fighter in the prospective F5 version, but the experiments are expected to help select a suitable platform later this decade.
Integration with Rafale
The General Directorate for Armament is targeting 2033 for the first version of the Rafale F5. Before then, France intends to develop interaction with autonomous platforms within the current Rafale F4 standard. The F4 standard already has an initial level of openness thanks to a tablet connected to the mission system. In F5, France plans to expand the volume of data available through the tablet, give it access to the mission system's computing resources, and improve interaction with onboard communications systems and data links.
The French military emphasizes that the decision to use weapons will remain with humans. Artificial intelligence is viewed as a tool to assist crews in mission planning, in-flight decision-making and post-flight analysis, including to reduce pilots' cognitive workload.
