14 DAY TRIAL // This is the first Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) that is completely autonomous and could ultimately strike targets anywhere in the world. Taranis, as the Celtic god of thunder, is a prototype that needed more than three years of making, and was born from a successful collaboration between the MoD, BAE Systems,GE Aviation, Rolls-Royce and QinetiQ.
Gerald Howarth, Minister for International Security Strategy, said at the ceremony that “Taranis is a truly trailblazing project. The first of its kind in the UK, it reflects the best of our nation's advanced design and technology skills and is a leading program on the global stage.”
Nigel Whitehead, Group Managing Director of BAE Systems' Programmes and Support business added that “Taranis has been three-and-a-half years in the making and is the product of more than a million man-hours.”
“It represents a significant step forward in this country's fast-jet capability. This technology is key to sustaining a strong industrial base and to maintain the UK's leading position as a center for engineering excellence and innovation.”
Taranis is like the dream of a young boy of remote-flying an airplane come true. The British Ministry of Defense will continues analyzing the prototype's abilities and will put to good use the information concerning technical and manufacturing challenges. All these innovative Unmanned Combat Air Systems are likely to be found in the future as standard equipment of spy and war planes.
The first trials will take place in 2011 and the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle will be obviously controlled by highly skilled military crews on the ground, just like it would be in real life situations. Sources indicate that the prototype is worth £142.5 million and it has the technology that makes it virtually undetectable.
The Ministry of Defense is very proud of this extraordinary achievement and it qualified it as “a prototype unmanned combat aircraft of the future.”