Unmanned fighter jet 'of the future'

SURB

SURB

Member
MoD unveils unmanned fighter jet 'of the future'


LONDON (AFP) – An unmanned jet capable of striking long-range targets has been dubbed the combat aircraft of the future" by the Ministry of Defence.
The Taranis -- named after the Celtic god of thunder -- was unveiled at a ceremony at BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire, on Monday.
The £142.5 million prototype is the size of a light aircraft and has been equipped with stealth technology to make it virtually undetectable.
In a press release, the MoD described the Taranis as "a prototype unmanned combat aircraft of the future."
It is built to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions while its crew stays safely on the ground and can control the aircraft from anywhere in the world.
The unmanned fighter jet can also carry bombs and missiles and, if the trials prove successful, the MoD said it should "ultimately be capable of striking targets at long range, even in another continent."
The current generation of propeller-driven drones -- such as the Predator and Reaper -- are capable of carrying missiles, but these unmanned planes can only be used in areas where the military has air dominance, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
The first flight trials are due to start next year.
"Taranis is a truly trailblazing project," said Minister for International Security Strategy Gerald Howarth.
"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 programme on the global stage."
The Taranis was created by the MOD in partnership with BAE system Rolls-Royce, QinetiQ and GE Aviation.
"Taranis has been three-and-a-half years in the making and is the product of more than a million man-hours," said Nigel Whitehead, group managing director of BAE Systems' Programmes and Support business.
"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 centre for engineering excellence and innovation."

Link: MoD unveils unmanned fighter jet 'of the future' - Yahoo! News


Looks cool to me.And it's huge.Although they say it's of the size of a light aircraft.Certainly better in design than the predator drone.

Reminds me of the stealth movie. :smokie
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Belesari

New Member
SURB said:
MoD unveils unmanned fighter jet 'of the future'


LONDON (AFP) – An unmanned jet capable of striking long-range targets has been dubbed the combat aircraft of the future" by the Ministry of Defence.
The Taranis -- named after the Celtic god of thunder -- was unveiled at a ceremony at BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire, on Monday.
The £142.5 million prototype is the size of a light aircraft and has been equipped with stealth technology to make it virtually undetectable.
In a press release, the MoD described the Taranis as "a prototype unmanned combat aircraft of the future."
It is built to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions while its crew stays safely on the ground and can control the aircraft from anywhere in the world.
The unmanned fighter jet can also carry bombs and missiles and, if the trials prove successful, the MoD said it should "ultimately be capable of striking targets at long range, even in another continent."
The current generation of propeller-driven drones -- such as the Predator and Reaper -- are capable of carrying missiles, but these unmanned planes can only be used in areas where the military has air dominance, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
The first flight trials are due to start next year.
"Taranis is a truly trailblazing project," said Minister for International Security Strategy Gerald Howarth.
"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 programme on the global stage."
The Taranis was created by the MOD in partnership with BAE system Rolls-Royce, QinetiQ and GE Aviation.
"Taranis has been three-and-a-half years in the making and is the product of more than a million man-hours," said Nigel Whitehead, group managing director of BAE Systems' Programmes and Support business.
"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 centre for engineering excellence and innovation."

Link: MoD unveils unmanned fighter jet 'of the future' - Yahoo! News


Looks cool to me.And it's huge.Although they say it's of the size of a light aircraft.Certainly better in design than the predator drone.

Reminds me of the stealth movie. :smokie
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Northrop Grumman X-47B - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bring it!!!!!!
 
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swerve

Super Moderator
SURB said:
MoD unveils unmanned fighter jet 'of the future'

Looks cool to me.And it's huge.Although they say it's of the size of a light aircraft.Certainly better in design than the predator drone.
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It's not a fighter, it's a bomber. It's not huge, it's the size of a Hawk jet trainer.
 
Haavarla

Haavarla

Active Member
How is the development of faster and more secure network links coming along?
Isn't this one of the main challanges in the UAV development?



Thanks
 
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moahunter

Banned Member
Haavarla said:
How is the development of faster and more secure network links coming along?
Isn't this one of the main challanges in the UAV development?
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It must be part of the program. The "British dogfighting drone" will often be autonomous though:

Gerald Howarth, the UK minister for international security strategy, says that Taranis will use minimal human intervention but can be remotely piloted at any time.

When asked whether Taranis and later UCAVs based on its technology would ever make their own targeting decisions, air chief marshal Simon Bryant of the UK's Royal Air Force said: "This is a very sensitive area we are paying a lot of attention to."

He thinks worries like those expressed by Sharkey are unfounded. "We do need to understand where autonomy will be bounded in the future. But for strategic effect we will always have a man in the loop – we cannot afford to do otherwise."
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Warning sounded over British dogfighting drone - tech - 12 July 2010 - New Scientist
 
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TaranisAttack

Banned Member
Here's some videos of the roll out

[nomedia]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv_mxs_3f_Y[/nomedia]

[nomedia]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQYMBz1w08k[/nomedia]

swerve said:
It's not a fighter, it's a bomber. It's not huge, it's the size of a Hawk jet trainer.
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Actually its not a bomber either, its a technology demonstrator for a long range strike aircraft. Close enough though ;)

moahunter said:
Without people in them, the millitary jets of the future will likely be of a different shape and size from the jets of today.
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Its not meant to be representitive of an operational aircraft. Its for development of technology, just like HERTI, Raven ect.
 
C

CorLeonis

New Member
I think it is said to be next generation Aircraft. When these aircrafts become advanced and full of capabilities, they might take the major role of future air forces while the 5th Gen air crafts are expensive, high maintenance cost and not life-safety for pilot.
 
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riksavage

Banned Member
With pressure on current and future budgets, Taranis represents an excellent potential deep strike solution to replace Tornado. By removing the human factor you greatly reduce the amount of time, money and effort required to sustain a pilot in the cockpit, not forgetting the amount of assets required to back the mission up, SAR planning and resourcing for one. Taranis is a transcontinental aircraft, perfect for delivering stormshadow / precision weapons in high-threat environments. No more parading of downed pilots should one be lost in combat thus removing any potential propaganda victories.

The amount of money invested thus far is minuscule compared to what is spent on manned platforms - way to go IMHO. I would by happy to see the RAF/FAA with Typhoon for home defence and oversees land-based CAP/CAS, F35B CAS/CAP supporting expeditionary warfare in the littoral environment and a Taranis derived airframe for strike missions deep behind enemy lines.

This project is MOD driven and I suspect it will be one platform that survives SDR. Value for money wise it's a no brainer - pilots alone cost millions to recruit, train and sustain (pay, messing, pension), take them out of the loop and you save big bucks.

Unfortuantely the current batch of fly-boys hate the idea of Taranis, the thought of an NCO sitting behind a control booth instead of a highly trained pilot riding a v-expensive toy across the heavens fills them with dread!

Taranis derivative may also prove an excellent future maritime option. Not being restricted by G-force factors means launch and recovery can be undertaken at much greater speeds, which means deck space for launching / landing could be reduced. Automated landing / take-off (already an optin for the F35B - landing) also means you could launch several platforms without any human interface, the human controller only getting involved on the final run to target, thus preventing operator fatigue.
 
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blackknight

New Member
Hi everyone, I am new to this forum! My opinion is that UCAV will be deployed in joint missions with manned fighters at least for the foreseable future. Its interesting that now India is following the footsteps of the UK in developing a long range UCAV. Meanwhile the Chinese are interested in proposing their long range UAVs to foreign military buyers.
 
Blackshoe

Blackshoe

Defense Professional
Verified Defense Pro
blackknight said:
Hi everyone, I am new to this forum! My opinion is that UCAV will be deployed in joint missions with manned fighters at least for the foreseable future. Its interesting that now India is following the footsteps of the UK in developing a long range UCAV. Meanwhile the Chinese are interested in proposing their long range UAVs to foreign military buyers.
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Welcome, blackknight. You would be well advised to go to the Intro thread and introduce yourself there. Then, you would be well advised to read the rules about posting here and abide by them (as an example, not necro'ing 4-year old threads).
 
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