Dassault AVE-D Petit Duc

The Dassault AVE-D Petit Duc was a sub-scale experimental stealth unmanned aerial vehicle built in France in 2000 as the first step of Dassault Aviation's LOGIDUC programme towards a combat drone. AVE-D stands for Aéronef de Validation Expérimentale - Discrétion, and petit duc is the French name for the Eurasian scops owl. The early prototypes were made by the subcontractor Aviation Design at Milly-la-Forêt and the rest by Dassault. Moulded entirely in carbon fibre to cut its radar and infrared signatures, it had a radar cross section compared to that of a sparrow, two AMT Olympus engines, an autopilot, and retractable landing gear that let it take off and land on a regular airstrip. On 18 July 2000 it became the first stealth unmanned aircraft to fly in Europe.