The Taranis: Prepare to Soil Yourself

The MoD (Ministry of Defence) today released the most advanced and possibly scariest looking aircraft to date. Looking from something that came out of the Stark Expo, this new fighter plane is called the Taranis and what makes this such a big deal is that it’s an unmanned stealth jet plane. That’s right, it’ll fly it’s merry little self to a land far far away and bomb the merry daylights out of it and be done and home before you even knew it left. OK so that’s a slight exaggeration, but it will be piloted by a crew back home and it’ll mostly be used for surveillance, but come on, how cool does it look!

 

Hit the jump for more photos, videos and information on this beast of a bird.

 

 

Below is a rather informative video from the ITN news broadcasting station showing off the announcement ceremony as well as some crap generic CGI to go along with it.

 

 

 

The Press Release taken from the BAE Systems website:

 

Named after the Celtic god of thunder, the concept demonstrator will test the possibility of developing the first ever autonomous stealthy Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) that would ultimately be capable of precisely striking targets at long range, even in another continent.

Should such systems enter into service, they will at all times be under the control of highly trained military crews on the ground.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony at BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire, Minister for International Security Strategy Gerald Howarth said: “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 programme on the global stage.”

Representing the pinnacle of UK engineering and aeronautical design, Taranis is an informal partnership of the UK MoD and industry talents including BAE Systems, Rolls Royce, QinetiQ and GE Aviation.

Speaking on behalf of the industry team, Nigel Whitehead, Group managing director of BAE Systems' Programmes & Support business, said: "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 centre for engineering excellence and innovation."

The Taranis prototype will provide the UK MoD with critical knowledge on the technical and manufacturing challenges and the potential capabilities of Unmanned Combat Air Systems.

Flight trials are due in 2011.

Source: BAE Systems

 

So whether or not you believe this is the beginnings of Cylon Raiders or Doomsday by Terminators, the plane isn’t due for testing until next year and I guess there’s nothing we can do about that. By the way, I love how on their website, the only item they have in the sidebar is “Military Air Solutions”. Oh I believe this is so much more than just a solution ...

Source: Geekologie

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