An artist's impression of how a new unmanned fighter drone might look
Posted on 11/06/2014 4:24:12 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Drones that could eventually replace the current generation of jet fighters have moved a step closer after BAE Systems and Dassault Aviation won a £120m contract.
Britain’s BAE and France’s Dassault have signed a two-year joint contract with the UK and French governments to look at what would be needed to build such an aircraft.
The deal confirms the Anglo-French agreement announced at the Farnborough Air Show in July, and is the next step towards unmanned jets that could replace the current fourth-generation fighters - the Typhoon in Britain and the Rafale in France.
The contract will focus on developing the technology needed to create the drones – officially known as the Future Combat Air System (FCAS). Once the two-year agreement comes to an end, work could then begin on building a prototype drone.
The new contract is expected to support hundreds of jobs at BAE and Dassault, as well at other companies in the programme’s supply chain, including Rolls-Royce, Selex ES, Snecma (Safran) and Thales.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
An artist's impression of how a new unmanned fighter drone might look
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