Once upon a time, the sun never set upon the British Empire. Britannia ruled the waves, and adversaries tangled with Her at their peril. WWII changed all that, of course, as the U.S. replaced the U.K. in global military dominance, and U.S. defense contractors like General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), and Boeing (NYSE: BA) grew to dominate global arms markets.
But now, it seems, Britain is aiming to leapfrog its cross-pond cousins, and in an entirely new field: the air.
Enter the super-drone
The UAV specialists at Spacedaily.com blared the headline: "Britain unveils new super-drone!" Described as "a large steel trapezoid … around 40 feet long and potentially deadly," the BAE Systems-built Taranis unmanned aerial vehicle is called a "prelude to the next generation of fighting capability." I cannot disagree.
Last year, U.S. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, argued that Lockheed's F-35 fighter jet could well be "the last manned fighter" the U.S. ever builds, as budget constraints and the ceaseless march of technological capability move the U.S. ever closer to an air force comprised entirely of robotic warriors. To my Foolish eye, the specs on the Taranis make that day seem remarkably near-at-hand.
While primarily designed to conduct intelligence and recon missions, Taranis is said to be fully capable of lugging both missiles and bombs through the air. BAE describes the bird (whose exact specs remain vague) as being roughly the size of the Hawk, a BAE-built training jet. Here are some of the official numbers for the Taranis:
- Height: 4 m
- Dimensions: 11.35 m x 9.94 m
- Weight: 8 t
- Range: Intercontinental
- Engine thrust: 6,480 lb
- Wingspan: 9.1 m
It seems to me a closer analogy is the Boeing-built Harrier jump jet, a carrier-launched aircraft capable of carrying ordnance as small as the short-range Sidewinder air-to-air missile, or as large as the Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) AMRAAM or Boeing Harpoon antiship missile. As such, Taranis appears to be a transition aircraft, bigger than a breadbox (or one of General Atomics' ubiquitous killer Reaper UAVs), but smaller than a full-fledged Lockheed F-16 fighter jet. It's probably not yet advanced enough to replace the functions of Mullen's much-maligned "manned fighters" entirely. But they're getting darn close
So is Britannia destined to rule the air, with BAE Systems as its champion? Tell us what you think in the comments box below. Then check back later this week for our latest installment of "Hey! Who's Flying This Thing?" to learn how Lockheed and Boeing plan to stay relevant in this fast-moving industry. Stay tuned, and stay Foolish!
