Spanish Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets and supporting personnel recently arrived in France to take part in evaluating the stealthy qualities of the Dassault nEUROn unmanned combat air vehicle, or UCAV. This comes as the Spanish are considering buying more of the fighters and are looking to join the French and Germans in the development of a new stealth fighter, as well as advanced unmanned combat aircraft.

Spain’s Ministry of Defense announced the deployment in a press release on Dec. 28, 2018. The Spanish contingent consisted of two Typhoons, along with pilots and maintenance personnel, from Ala 11, or 11th Wing, which is based at Morón Air Base. The jets will operate from the French Air Force’s Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, which serves, in part, as a major French military aviation test facility, for the duration of their visit.

Dassault

During that time, the Typhoons will try to spot and track the nEUROn using their onboard radar, infrared search and track (IRST) system, electronic support measures suite, and the imaging infrared seeker in the IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile. “It must be taken into account that the nEUROn was conceived as a stealth aircraft with very low radar and infrared signatures; hence the interest of facing this system with radars and other aerial sensors,” a basic translation of the Spanish statement said. The nEUROn program dates back to 1999 and, while France’s Dassault leads the project, it is really the work of a European team. Spain, through what had been known as EADS-CASA, has been involved in the drone’s development since 2006 and has been responsible for work on the wings, ground control station, and data link integration. In 2009, European aviation consortium Airbus’ military division absorbed EADS-CASA completely.

Spanish Air Force A pair of Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets. The aircraft's infrared search and track system is visible in front and to the left of the cockpit.

Billed as a UCAV technology demonstrator, nEUROn has been flying since 2012 and has already gone through a number of tests to determine its ability to remain undetected and penetrate air defense networks. In 2016, the aircraft was reportedly able to successfully breach the air defense perimeter around the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, a clear demonstration of its stealth characteristics. But there's no indication it has ever squared off against the Eurofighter Typhoon specifically. Though Spain plans to upgrade its late-model Typhoons with the new active electronically scanned array (AESA) CAPTOR-E radar, its current jets still employ the mechanically scanned CAPTOR radar. They also feature EuroFirst Passive Infrared Airborne Track Equipment (PIRATE) infrared search and track system.

Dassault Aviation The nEUROn and a Dassault Rafale M manned fighter jet fly in formation past the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle during tests in 2016.