We present to you the "Vortex" aircraft project, which aims to make France a "first-rank space power"

According to its designer, Dassault Aviation, this aircraft will be capable of carrying out both civil and military missions.

Large fins, a waffle texture... The Vortex spaceplane model, for " Reusable Orbital Transport and Exploration Vehicle", intrigued with its design at the Paris Air Show , where it was presented at the end of June. But it is of particular interest to the French army, which signed an agreement on Friday, June 20, with its designer, Dassault Aviation, to develop this aircraft and a whole family of spaceplanes over the next decade. Since the air show, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, has hailed a "fundamental" project and "an important step forward" .

For now, the Vortex is not even at the prototype stage. The agreement signed at the end of June concerns "the development of a demonstrator," Dassault Aviation insists on its website . This device, designed as a pioneer, must "validate the critical performances linked to the configuration of a space plane," the aircraft manufacturer continues. Three boxes must be ticked in particular: "mastery of hypersonic flight, advanced thermal protection technologies and flight control," Dassault Aviation states. A rapprochement with the European Space Agency is also underway to facilitate the design of this machine.

"The Vortex spaceplane is designed to be highly versatile. It must help transform the uses of the space sector and offer new fields of application," said Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, in a press release on June 20. Its missions will be both civil and military. For example, it could be used to provide connections with one or more space stations, conduct scientific experiments, or transport strategic cargo. It could also carry surveillance equipment.

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The model presented at Le Bourget features vertical fins, like those on airliners, as well as a textured coating designed to withstand the intense heat during exit and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. This shuttle will be propelled by a launcher, but must also be able to land on a runway like a conventional aircraft upon its return. The Vortex project is in line with the priorities set by the 2024-2030 Military Programming Act (LPM) and the Action and Space Resilience (Ares) program. The first flights are expected between 2028 and 2023, according to industry analysts.