Ministry of Defence Reveal Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle – Taranis

The Minisitry of Defence (MoD) has recently revealed a prototype for an unmanned combat plane, apparently if all goes to plan flight trials will begin in 2011.

This concept plane is called Taranis, its aim is to become a long-range strike plane which will not require a pilot, defence Minister Gerald Howarth describes it as “the best of our nation’s advanced design and technology”.

Currently there are other unmanned aircraft, however these can only be used in allied airspace, the MoD want the Taranis to be capable of combat in hostile airspace, if this objective is met it will change air combat forever.

There are huge benefits which unmanned aircraft will bring, such as less vulnerability to many of today’s anti-aircraft missiles, and perhaps more importantly unmanned combat aircraft won’t have to take into consideration the amount of Gs the human body can cope with.

Do you think that unmanned aircraft will in the long run replace manned aircraft?

Source: BBCNews