Unmanned aircraft Taranis launched

4:00pm Thursday 7th December 2006

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Aerospace giant BAE Systems has revealed a £124million project to build a hi-tech unmanned aircraft.

The company, which will take the lead on the project and be the prime contractor, will work with government scientists from the Ministry of Defence on the project.

Work will be carried out at Samlesbury in the Ribble Valley and at Warton, near Preston.

BAE Systems has been at the forefront of the development of unmanned craft, to be called Taranis, for several years.

The craft would be controlled remotely by the military from control centres, removing the need to have a pilot in the plane.

The government is hoping such craft could one day save the lives of soldiers, and has included it in the Defence Industrial Strategy, a guide for the future of work between it and the defence industry.

BAE bosses say the contract, to be funded jointly by the government and industry, is expected to "explore and demonstrate how emerging technologies and systems can deliver battle-winning capabilities for the UK armed forces."

Taranis will be a "technology demonstrator" to help the Ministry of Defence decide what role such craft can play in the armed services of the future.

Mike Turner, chief executive of BAE Systems, said: "This is an important project in light of the way in which military operations are changing."

The Taranis project, named after the Celtic God of Thunder, should be ready for testing in early 2009, with the first flight trials taking place in 2010.

So far BAE Systems has already demonstrated on unmanned craft, the Raven, which was built at the firm's Advanced Technology Demonstration Centre in Warton, near Preston, during 2003/04.