Unmanned Aircraft

London’s Ministery of Defence is going stealth at the rate of over $200 million a pop.

Earlier this week the Ministery unveiled Raranis. An unmanned jet capable of striking long range targets. The jet, named for the Celtic God of Thunder is now being called the combat aircraft of the future. The prototype is the size of a light aircraft and is virtually undetectable. The press release reports that the jet was designed to carry out intelligence, surveillance and recon missions while the crew remains safely on the ground and out of site.

The Ministery says the jet can also be controlled from anywhere in the world and can strike from long range distances, even from another continent. This challenges current U.S. unmanned aircraft like the Predator which can only be used in areas where the military has air dominance. Taranis has been in production for 3 1/2 years and took more than a million man hours to finish. The Ministery says the first flight trials will start next year and that Taranis will become a hit on the global stage. Looks like despite the recession, countries can always find a few bucks for defense.