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Mantis completes first flight trials

By Gareth Jennings

11/16/2009

The BAE Systems Mantis long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has completed its initial flight trials at Woomera in southern Australia, the company announced on 13 November.

These trials, which were part of the company's Spiral 1 contract with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), demonstrated the capability of the system and the potential of large unmanned systems to support future UK operational needs. The programme is being jointly funded by industry and the MoD.

With the successful first flight, it is likely that the MoD will now move into a Spiral 2 contract with BAE Systems, covering the aircraft's sensors.

Mantis, which is being jointly funded by the MoD and UK industry partners BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, QinetiQ, GE Aviation, Selex Galileo and Meggitt, is being developed to provide the UK with an operationally sovereign strategic UAV capability.

Mantis has a 20 m wingspan and is BAE Systems' first all-electric aircraft. The system is intended to be easily deployable and can be broken down to fit into a military transport aircraft. It is designed to have open architecture, 'plug and play' elements in the mission system and the ability to carry a wide range of sensors.

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