New British war drone has unprecedented levels of autonomy
Posted 07.12.2010 at 1:57 pm
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Taranis
The British Ministry of Defence has unveiled Taranis, an unmanned aerial strike vehicle named for the Celtic god of thunder.
BAE Systems/Ministry of Defence
A British unmanned combat aircraft unveiled Monday could become the first autonomous plane to strike targets at long range, even on another continent. Named Taranis, for the Celtic god of thunder, the prototype aircraft will test the possibility of a long-distance striker controlled by ground crews, the Ministry of Defence says.
This Taranis prototype won't ever go into service, but will prove technologies and concepts for future aircraft, BBC reports.
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Technology, Rebecca Boyle, air force, BAE, drones, future air force, military, predator, stealth, taranis, uavs, unmanned aerial vehicles, weaponExisting unmanned weaponized aircraft, like Predator drones that carry Hellfire missiles, are only usable in allied-controlled airspace, BBC notes. Taranis is a stealth vehicle that would be able to penetrate enemy airspace.
U.S. military contractors have several other unmanned combat air vehicle designs, including the Boeing X-45 and Northrop-Grumman X-47.
Taranis took three and a half years to build, including more than a million man-hours, according to BAE Systems, which built the plane along with Rolls Royce, QinetiQ, and GE Aviation. The first test flights will take place next year, the defense ministry said.
Taranis involves computer programs that will allow the aircraft to "think" for itself, but the defense ministry sought to allay fears that weaponized UAVs would run amok: "Should such systems enter into service, they will at all times be under the control of highly trained military crews on the ground," it said in a statement.
[via BBC]
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yup seen this in a movie, even looks similar...bad movie with jessica biel? didnt end well even under monitoring
I wonder if this is a way for the Brits to take back the colonies. Just sayin...
they can have the east coast imo
COMMENCE SKYNET SCRIPT NOW.
It would be kool to have your own! Imagine the mischief you could do and all the time with a great alibi!
You do know the British comm sat system is called Skynet....seriously.
I don't get why you need to have an unmanned aircraft yeah it will save like one or two life per aircraft at the cost of what 300,000 for the system per aircraft and millions in research cost
@ wryip350. Did you really just state that a pilot's life isn't worth the cost of an unmanned aircraft? Not only are you morally incorrect, but also economically. Pilots are million dollar investments.
@ wryip350. Also to add on a lot of limitations on aircraft today are the pilots body. Think about it a UAV like that could pull a 8 g turn with no strain on the pilot. With a pilot in the cockpit that's a lot of suck to speak plain. Also life support systems gone, oh wait more fuel efficient now how could that be we only shed a couple thousand pounds of cockpit. When you think about it rationally drones are a better craft.
Anyone else think this looks a bit like a Cylon fighter plane from battle star gallactica?