Robot stealth jet gets £124m boost

The Ministry of Defence is spending £124m to develop stealth robot fighter jets, with a prototype expected in the air by the end of the decade.

It has awarded a £124m contract to BAE Systems to develop unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, with BAE Systems leading an industry team including QinetiQ, Rolls-Royce and Smiths Aerospace on Project Taranis. Taranis is the Celtic god of thunder.

The programme will explore how cutting-edge technology can be used to deliver a new front-line UAV capability.

It said Taranis (see computer-generated image below) will be one of the world's largest UAVs - about the size of a Hawk jet - and will integrate stealth technology around an "intelligent, autonomous system". It will also test the potential to carry ground attack weapons.

Defence minister Lord Drayson said the project will test cutting-edge technology for a new generation of equipment for front line forces.

The project aims to build one flying technology demonstration vehicle, with flight trials provisionally planned for later this decade.

The test jet will integrate off-the-shelf technologies and help increase understanding of the risks and compromises required to successfully integrate key strategic unmanned air vehicle technologies, the MoD said.