Lancashire skills fly high with Mantis
BAE Systems has flown the largest unmanned aircraft ever to be built in the UK which was designed and assembled at it Warton site in Lancashire.
The plane, known as Mantis, completed its maiden flight in Woomera, South Australia to demonstrate the potential of large unmanned systems to support the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
Air Vice-Marshal Simon Bollom said: “These trials at the end of this technology demonstration programme have successfully demonstrated a number of key factors that have helped build confidence in the feasibility of a UK-derived medium altitude long endurance unmanned aerial system.”
During phase one of the programme BAE Systems has been working alongside the MOD and industrial partners including Rolls Royce, QinetiQ and GE Aviation.
Chris Allam, managing director of the Autonomous Systems & Future Capability business at BAE, said: “This achievement is testament to the can-do approach of the whole team working on this programme. Mantis has gone from concept to flight in just 19 months and the MOD, BAE Systems and a number of industry parties have worked together to make this happen. It confirms the skill and innovation within the UK aerospace sector and the ability to move quickly from concept to reality.”
The plane has a 20-metre 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.
