BAE Systems have revealed their latest innovation, the Taranis stealth drone which has been named after the Celtic god of thunder. After flying successful test flights in the Australian desert last August, the Teranis is now officially complete and is currently deployed as a technology demonstrator.
1.5 million man hours and $303.3 million went into creating the Taranis, which features a 32 foot wingspan for its 39 feet long body, making it about the same length as a US school bus. The drone is flown remotely by a human operator, but it is technically possible to be flown autonomously.
The new drone is intended to be a deterrent, offering persistent surveillance by flying over an area for hours on end, while recording via a range of cameras and sensors. However, it’s often known that current drones are slow, propeller based and typically fly in areas with no aerial threats such as enemy jets. BAE say the new stealth jet gets around this problem, and it’s clear that it’s designed by be sneakier and a lot faster, but they’re not giving up their secrets on how it will deter enemy aircraft, only going as far as saying that it can.
We don’t bought that this thing packs some interesting surprises, just check out the video below and you’ll see how bad-ass the Taranis actually looks in flight.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/uXS1iGx03eg[/youtube]Thank you Popsci for providing us with this information.
I’d love to play with this toy. 🙂