The French Ministry of Defence said that it was in talks with Dassault Aviation on an order for a new unmanned aircraft system (a variant of the IAI Heron TP ) that would enter into service in 2014.
The Dassault aircraft would replace the Harfang, made by EADS derived from the IAI Heron 1 currently used by the French armed forces, and remain in service until 2020. Beyond 2020, the French military plans to introduce a new generation of medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAS jointly developed by Dassault and BAE Systems.
Source: Reuters