# French Air Force Plans Loyal Wingman Trial

France plans a full-scale 2028 trial under its Hypairion program, pairing crewed fighters with collaborative combat drones to advance sovereign AI and government-owned, open, modular aircraft architectures. Initial AI use-case testing on two modified Mirage 2000s at Mont-de-Marsan is expected by the end of 2026. The program may create future opportunities for established aerospace firms and startups, but the signal identifies no open solicitation, contract value, or procurement contact.

- The near-term activity is AI testing on two modified Mirage 2000s; the full-scale crewed-fighter and drone trial is planned for 2028.
- Aerospace and AI firms can use the program’s stated focus on sovereign AI and open, modular architectures to assess how their capabilities could support future French defense work.
- No current bid action is identified. Companies should not treat the testing schedule as an open procurement or assume a contract opportunity is available.

**Jurisdictions:** international
**Industries:** Defense & Military, Information Technology
**Topics:** Artificial Intelligence
**Published:** October 02, 2026

### Government Entities
- French Air and Space Force
- Directorate General for Armament (DGA)
- Ministerial Agency for Defence AI (Amiad)
- French Armed Forces Ministry

### Vendors
- Airbus (Potential participant)
- BAE Systems (Potential participant)
- General Atomics (Potential participant)
- Dassault Aviation (Rafale industrial partner)

### Sources
- [French Air Force plans loyal wingman flight in 2028 in sovereign AI push](https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2026/10/02/french-air-force-plans-loyal-wingman-flight-in-2028-in-sovereign-ai-push) - Defense News