French Armed Forces Ministry backs Dassault Aviation's VORTEX spaceplane demonstrator

The French Ministry of the Armed Forces has signed an agreement with aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation to support the development of a spaceplane demonstrator. The announcement was made at the Paris Air Show.

The demonstrator represents the first step in an incremental roadmap for developing a family of spaceplanes called VORTEX (Véhicule Orbital Réutilisable de Transport et d’Exploration). Dassault Aviation aims to contribute to the development of strategic capabilities and meet new challenges in the space economy, including orbital transport and autonomous missions.

The development leverages Dassault Aviation's industrial expertise in complex airborne systems, reinforced by experience from space projects such as Hermès, X-38, and IXV. Key objectives include validating critical performance aspects of the spaceplane configuration, such as hypersonic flight control, advanced thermal protection, and flight controls. These technical demonstrations aim to reduce uncertainties and prepare for future decisions on operational space capabilities.

Dassault Aviation is adopting an agile innovation approach to accelerate the maturation of critical technologies and concepts. The company seeks an optimal balance between technical performance, development time, risk mitigation, and cost efficiency, aligning with NewSpace principles. The goal is to transform the uses of the space sector and open new fields of application.