With his Rafale nose , Reco NG pod's and Mica missile under the wing, the Foker 100 test stand of the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) sensation.
The device is presented at the Paris Salon will be received before the end of 2015. The aircraft will gradually replace within the DGA flight test current Myster 20.The device is a former airliner which was amended by Sabena. Bigger and better adapted than the current 20 Myster, Avion Testbed New Generation has been designed to increase the cost efficiency of flight testing. The aircraft was equipped with two tons of cabling to integrate all types of systems. The size of the aircraft is also an asset. The test bench can integrate multiple systems at once. Aboard four operator stations and six installation bays were built. The cockpit has hardly changed. Only a radar score just betray the new functions of Foker 100. This instrument allows test pilots to use directly from the radar. They can contribute their expertise. Their role is to take the place of the future user.
The DGA hopes to achieve up to 150 flights a year with this unit while minimizing downtime due to ground configuration changes. But the DGA EV insists that the number of flying hours is only one aspect of the work of ABENEG Each flight is followed by an important pioneering work data.
The new test bench is an essential tool for the DGA, it allows among others to maintain the expertise of the French aerospace agency in charge of armament programs.
The device can be used to test a large number of systems: radar, communication systems, electronic warfare, IFF, inertial platforms or designation or recognition. A payload developed under the wing allows to test missiles. The weapon can not be launched, but the homing head can be turned on to confirm its operation.
As the director of the DGA EV avioner the camera allows for systems that are not yet mature and are too large to be signed on for hunters DGA EV. The latter currently has forty aircraft (helicopters and fixed wing) Mirage 2000 with 9 recognizable by their gray livery. In words, the DGA EV will have no more than 25 devices have. The seven Myster 20 will be gradually withdrawn from service. To operate these devices, about twenty test pilots are available. With relatively little flying hours per year, the life of the ABENG should be at least 20 years. The new flagship of the DGA EV will begin flight testing in 2016.