Airbus has unveiled the stealth Low-Observable UAV Testbed (LOUT) demonstrator aircraft for the first time on November 5 during the company's annual Trade Media Briefing at Manching in southern Germany. The Editor of Chief of Defence Turkey Magazine was in the launch ceremony at the invatation of Airbus company.   

The LOUT model was revealed in an anechoic chamber at Airbus Defence and Space’s facilities. The Low-Observable UAV Testbed (LOUT) is a twin-engine, diamond-shaped, subsonic unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) developed to prove very low-observable (VLO) technologies. The LOUT has a roughly 12m wingspan and a similar length and weighs 4 tonnes. The initial concept work on LOUT began in 2007 through Airbus internal funding, and the development continued in a Skunk Works-like secrecy. LOUT was contracted by the German MoD in 2010 as a VLO ground testbed to demonstrate wideband signature reduction technologies and refine configuration and material choices for a potential configuration of a VLO-platform. During the development process, several configurations were elaborated. The company started with 2D planform evaluations, followed by 3D layouts, and then 3D configurations. The testing of the three most promising configurations was launched in 2014, and following the tunnel tests of scale-models, Airbus decided on a diamond planform shape in 2015.

LOUT covers all aspects, from simulation and development to production and measurement. The programme aims to demonstrate a holistic approach to low observability. It is designed to offer visual, acoustic, radar (VHF to Ka-Band), and infrared signature reduction against ground-based threats, as well as the use of electronic countermeasures and electromagnetic emission control. The aircraft features an internal weapons bay located in between the engines with all-aspect stealth design features. The model has low-RCS diverterless air inlets mounted on top of the aircraft and a thrust-vectoring flat exhaust nozzle that is protected against ground-based sensors. The LOUT also features a cockpit to test the properties of several transparency technologies that do not affect the aircraft's low observability. The canopy represents the installation of electro-optical sensors and does not indicate any manned capability for the aircraft. To further contribute to the low-observability, the aircraft features minimized gaps between surfaces as well as surface-wave attenuation that decouples mutually spaced scattering effects.

The model, which does not incorporate any traditional flight control surfaces, bears a striking resemblance to the twin-engine Airbus SAGITTA UAV that flew for the first time on July 5, 2017. Airbus launched the SAGITTA demonstrator in 2010 to jointly develop advanced technologies for unmanned flight. The project started as a feasibility study for the flying-wing configuration and developed in conjunction with institutes from the technical universities of Munich and Chemnitz, the University of the Federal Armed Forces (Universität der Bundeswehr), the Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). Airbus stated that the research vehicle was constructed to a scale of 1:4 with a 3m wingspan, which corresponds to the 12m wingspan LOUT design.

LOUT programme does not aim to produce a flying testbed; it intends to provide the means for developing and understanding low observable technologies. It focuses on testing radar-absorbent materials, LO structure, radar frequency, and infrared signature reduction, as well as analyzing the acoustic characteristics of such a design. Airbus affirmed that it completed contracted work on LOUT, and the first phase of testing has been completed but stated that additional phases could follow. It is expected that the technological gains from the LOUT programme will be available for Eurofighter Typhoon Long Term Evolution (LTE) activities and the proposed Future Combat Air System (FCAS/SCAF) developed by France, Germany, and Spain.