Fighter jet drones move closer as BAE and Dassault link up

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.

Ian King, BAE chief executive, said: “This contract award is a key step in the partnership between our two nations, governments and industries. The feasibility phase will allow UK and French industry to work closely together and provide a strong foundation for a potential follow-on FCAS demonstration programme as well as supporting a number of highly skilled jobs.”

Eric Trappier, chairman and chief executive of Dassault, said: “This new step prepares the future of both manned and unmanned combat air systems. It ensures French and British companies maintain their technological excellence which is vital to competitiveness in a globalised environment, and shows the commitment of France and Britain to remain leading aviation powers.”

BAE is already a leading force in unmanned combat aircraft, having spent a decade developing the technology. The pinnacle of the comany's work is Taranis, a stealthy combat aircaft demonstrator that was built to test new systems , flight controls and materials. It is also being used to show the potential for a drone - under the control of a human operator at a distant base - executing missions including bombing, target marking and reconnaissance.

^{The Tarannis drone}

Tarannis - named after the Celtic god of Thunder - first flew at a secret test range in August 2013. Earlier this year it completed another round of experimental flights, including operating in a stealthy configuration, making it virtually invisible to radar.