Taranis to thunder into the skies

News

Defence Minister Lord Drayson has awarded a £124m contract to an industry team led by BAE Systems to develop stealth Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology.

Defence Minister Lord Drayson has awarded a £124m contract to an industry team led by BAE Systems to develop stealth Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology. Other industry collaborators on Project Taranis, named after the Celtic god of thunder, are Rolls-Royce, Qinetiq, and Smiths Aerospace.

A key deliverable of the Defence Industrial Strategy, the programme will explore how advanced technology can be used to deliver a new front line UAV. Taranis will be one of the world's largest UAVs, about the size of a Hawk jet at around eight tonnes, and will integrate stealth technology around an intelligent, autonomous system. It will also test the potential to carry ground attack weapons.

The programme will see military staff and scientists working alongside industry in a new type of partnership to deliver better transparency and information sharing.

Lord Drayson said: ‘This project represents the best of British innovation. It is an opportunity for businesses really prepared to take risks to reap the benefit.

Register now to continue reading

Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of news stories. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our news coverage, as well as premium content including opinion, in-depth features and special reports.  

Benefits of registering

  • In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends

  • Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year

  • Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox

Register
Or continue by

Signing in with your registered email address