The French air force’s future unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) will break cover during the Paris air show, with developer Dassault Aviation to reveal a model of the type within its static display.

France announced the project last October, when armed forces minister Sebastien Lecornu detailed its plan to field the capability for operational use from 2033.

“A pre-development contract is ongoing,” General Arvind Badrinath, head of combat air for France’s DGA defence procurement body, told FlightGlobal in a pre-show interview. “The next phase is to launch the development activity that will lead to a first prototype.”

While the future operational asset will be a large platform, with a maximum take-off weight of over 10t, Paris will not require a technology demonstrator to support its development.

“We consider that Neuron was the demonstrator,” Badrinath says, referring to the Dassault-led UCAV testbed that debuted in December 2012 and went on to accumulate more than 170 flights.

Powered by a single Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca Adour turbofan engine, that 5-6t aircraft demonstrated key aspects including very low-observable design and the internal carriage and release of weapons.

“We are on track to launch the development of this UCAV,” Badrinath says. “We are still working on it with the contract that we are discussing with industry.”

The UCAV will be paired with the future F5 standard of Dassault’s Rafale, followed from 2040 by the introduction of a New Generation Fighter. Also to be on show at Le Bourget in model form, that sixth-generation design will be one of the main elements of a broader Future Combat Air System being jointly developed by France, Germany and Spain.