The BAE Systems Mantis Unmanned Autonomous System Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrator is a British demonstrator programme for

Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, fighter drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance and carries aircra ...

(UCAV) technology. The Mantis is a twin-engine,

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

-powered UCAV with a wingspan of approximately 22 m, broadly comparable to the

MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, one component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomi ...

. Other partners involved in Phase 1 of the Mantis programme include the

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for implementing the defence policy set by the government and serv ...

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

QinetiQ QinetiQ ( as in '' kinetic'') is a British defence technology company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire. It operates primarily in the defence, security and critical national infrastructure markets and run testing and evaluation capabili ...

GE Aviation General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, is an American aircraft engine supplier that is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. It is the legal successor to the original General Electric Company founded in 1892, wh ...

, L-3 Wescam,

Meggitt Parker Meggitt (legally Meggitt Ltd) is a British international company specialising in components and sub-systems for the aerospace, defence and selected energy markets. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the F ...

and Lola.

Design and development

Development of the Mantis started in late 2007, with a mockup being revealed at the 2008 Farnborough International Air Show. The Phase 1 Mantis vehicle is powered by two

Rolls-Royce Model 250 The Allison Model 250, now known as the Rolls-Royce M250, (US military designations T63 and T703) is a highly successful turboshaft engine family, originally developed by the Allison Engine Company in the early 1960s. The Model 250 has been pro ...

engines, although this is likely to change in later variants. The Mantis is intended to have at least 24-hour operational endurance and is an autonomous vehicle, able to pilot itself and plot its own course, communicating with personnel on the ground regarding its observations. Phase 1 is intended to demonstrate BAE Systems' rapid prototyping capabilities and will focus on the evaluation of autonomous control systems. Later phases may evaluate civilian applications, armed variants and sensor packages. The large dome on the front, reminiscent of a pilot's canopy, actually contains an upward facing satellite communications system. The prototype first flew on 21 October 2009 at the

Woomera Test Range The RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC) is a major Australian military and civil aerospace facility and operation located in South Australia, approximately north-west of Adelaide. The WRC is operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), a S ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. In 2013 the Mantis was flight tested in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was used as the basis for the BAE/Dassault Telemos, the development of which was discontinued.

Specifications

References

* *

External links

Airliners.net photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bae Mantis British Aerospace aircraft 2000s British experimental aircraft Unmanned military aircraft of the United Kingdom Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles Airborne military robots Low-wing aircraft Twin-turboprop pusher aircraft Unmanned experimental aircraft Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear

Design and development

Specifications

See also

References

External links