BAE Taranis (UCAV Demonstrator) (BAE Systems/MOD)

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WhiteWhale
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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by WhiteWhale »

I like how the first reports were always-

'tested in a totally secret location'
-Do you mean Woomera oz?
'...... no.....'

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GibMariner
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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by GibMariner »



Article is here: http://aviationweek.com/defense/anglo-f ... take-shape but paywalled.

All I can see is:
Anglo-French UCAV Study Begins To Take Shape
British-French UCAV could fly as wingman to manned fighters

More than 18 months have passed since Britain and France embarked on a path to develop an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) and much has been achieved, albeit mostly behind closed doors. Since the two governments signed off on the multinational two-year Future Combat Air System (FCAS) feasibility study at the Farnborough Airshow in 2014 and work began in October that year, there is now growing consensus on the planform of the aircraft, and while decisions about an engine selection remain ...

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shark bait
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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by shark bait »

Very interesting,

2 engines means big. I suppose those engines would be split with a big internal bay in between.
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Pseudo
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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by Pseudo »

What about vertically stacked engines with ordnance bays on either side. My thinking is that this might allow the UCAV to cruise on one engine increasing its range.

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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by RetroSicotte »

Oh boy, I can't wait to see the utter theatre that engine selection is going to be.

Look forward to one from Rolls and one from Snecma on either side. Then they'll argue over whether the name should end in an 'e'.

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SKB
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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by SKB »

Image
French minister: "How about Taraneé, like Paree (sic)?"
UK minister: "No, Taranis, like Paris." ;)

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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by ~UNiOnJaCk~ »

RetroSicotte wrote:Oh boy, I can't wait to see the utter theatre that engine selection is going to be.

Look forward to one from Rolls and one from Snecma on either side. Then they'll argue over whether the name should end in an 'e'.

With all the best will in the world to our French friends i would very much hope that the MoD tells them to kindly take an 'effing back seat on this one and let daddy drive. In the overwhelming majority of recent collaborative efforts between our two countries that have fallen through the failure has been from their side. I hope we make it clear that we will be leading this effort. I realise that ambition will need to be matched by resources but we can't afford to let our neighbours cock this one up for us.

Ideally, our ambition would drive the effort and the French can help cough up some of the funding. British project with foreign money ;)


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shark bait
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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by shark bait »

Good news, didn't expect them to be signing away cold hard cash so soo. But with the French anything could happen, fingers crossed :D

Good to see we are not exclusively leaning on the Americans for the future of the RAF.

Timings actually work out nice. The typhoon took 9 years to go from prototype to in service. We can expect this FCAS to be in service by 2039, just in time for the 2040 out of service date of typhoon. Good luck.
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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by ~UNiOnJaCk~ »

They want the prototype operational by 2030+ or they want an actual operational platform, stemming from the prototype, to be in service within the 2030s?

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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by Gabriele »

Technical review in 2020, demonstrators flying within 2025, operational capability "beyond 2030".
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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by ~UNiOnJaCk~ »

Quite a bit more procrastination then? A bit better than only having the prototype working by the 2030s though!

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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by bobp »

Seriously it would be good for both countries if something came out of this program, something affordable that we could equip our forces with. In the past we have worked with the French, the Jaguar being very successful, and of course the Concorde.

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Re: BAE Taranis (UCAV Demonstrator) (BAE Systems/MOD)

Post by Defiance »

~UNiOnJaCk~ wrote:Quite a bit more procrastination then? A bit better than only having the prototype working by the 2030s though!
...

jonas
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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by jonas »

This appears promising (I think) :-

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... ec-425347/

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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by downsizer »

jonas wrote:This appears promising (I think) :-

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... ec-425347/
Hopefully the lessons learnt will be applied to something useful.

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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by bobp »

Indeed it does look promising, it seems a shame to share all that research with the French, wonder what they are bringing to the table.

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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by Ron5 »

bobp wrote:Seriously it would be good for both countries if something came out of this program, something affordable that we could equip our forces with. In the past we have worked with the French, the Jaguar being very successful, and of course the Concorde.
Considering that a 100% British Jaguar, without all the drag of having to use a French trainer aircraft as a base, would have been a worthy F-16 peer, I'd say Jaguar was a terrible failure.

The French competed against Jaguar with its Mirage and told customers, Jaguar was crap, don't buy it.

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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by Ron5 »

bobp wrote:Indeed it does look promising, it seems a shame to share all that research with the French, wonder what they are bringing to the table.
I think you know the answer: a large notebook and when all the UK secrets have been learned, an end to joint development.

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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by bobp »

Yes I did think along those lines, I guess we have to thank our political defence expert Mr Cameron for signing off to it.

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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by cky7 »

Ron,

I knew about France's sabotaging of Jaguars sales but have never heard any of the rest of that. Could you fill me in in more details or provide some links for the full story for me please?

Many thanks in advance.

PS - wrong thread for this but as. US citizen are you not annoyed with constantly bailing out and protecting us in nato? Even the uk and our pathetic and book fiddled 2% of gdp is rather insulting when compared to your percentage spend. Virtually all of the other nato 'partners' are even worse. In you guys shoes I'd be really pissed off and be telling us to start matching your percentage spend or hide behind someone else!

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The Armchair Soldier
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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by The Armchair Soldier »

Speaking of France and Neuron:

France to Conduct Carrier-Based NEURON UCAV Testing
19 May 2016 - France's Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) has announced a new campaign of flight tests for the NEURON Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) technology demonstrator to include sea trials aboard the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle (R91).

The new testing regime's first flight took place earlier this week at Istres-Le Tubé Air Base near Marseille. DGA's Flight Test Center will oversee additional testing which is designed to study the use of a UCAV in a naval setting. Following sea trials aboard the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, additional electromagnetic signature measurement evaluations will be carried out until early 2017 at DGA's facility in Bruz.
Read More: http://www.navaldrones.com/NEURON.html#CVN

What does this mean for FCAS?

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Gabriele
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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by Gabriele »

That report is incorrect. The sea trials will not be aboard Charles de Gaulle, but merely in a "naval environment", meaning that it will fly above the CdG task group and cooperate with it.
Toutefois, aucuns appontages et catapultages ne sont prévus, pour l'instant, puisque le drone NEURON n'a pas été développé avec les spécifications requises lors de la conception d'un aéronef embarqué, puisque l'on y trouve notamment une crosse d'appontage, un train d'atterrissage renforcé, et une cellule plus solide, à l'épreuve des catapultages et de la pression qu'exercent les appontages.
http://www.defens-aero.com/2016/05/dron ... aulle.html

The NEURON was not born to be a carrier-borne aircraft, and won't become one all of a sudden.
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The Armchair Soldier
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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by The Armchair Soldier »

^ Thanks for that, Gabriele. I thought that article sounded a bit sketchy.

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Re: Taranis & Future Combat Air System

Post by bobp »

Bae and MOD considering further Taranis test flights.
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defens ... /85653354/

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