U.K., France Extend Drone Alliance to Fighter Craft

[SpArK]

U.K., France Extend Drone Alliance to Fighter Craft
​

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Britain and France have extended their cooperation on drone technology to a possible unmanned replacement for fighter aircraft, Peter Luff, the U.K. defense- procurement minister, said today at a military exposition in London.

Jointly producing an unmanned combat air vehicle or UCAV would result in "genuine" cost savings and efficiencies and enhance inter-operability, Luff said in an interview on the sidelines of the DSEi show.

"We are working together on developing the science, the capability requirements, the doctrines," the minister said. "Where it will end I won't tell you because I don't know."

France and Britain pledged last November to jointly develop the next generation of medium-altitude, long-endurance, or MALE, drones to end their dependence on U.S. and Israeli unmanned aircraft for reconnaissance and strike missions, which are increasingly used in conflicts such as Afghanistan and Libya.

In one scenario, combining efforts to develop a UCAV could bring together London-based BAE Systems Plc and Paris-based Dassault Aviation SA, Luff said. The two companies are already jointly developing a MALE drone.

The drones market today is dominated by offerings from companies based in the U.S., including San Diego-based General Atomics and Northrop Grumman Corp. of Falls Church, Virginia, and Elbit Systems Ltd. and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. European industry is eager to develop its own unmanned aircraft for military use to keep engineers working.



Read more: U.K., France Extend Drone Alliance to Fighter Craft



Read more: U.K., France Extend Drone Alliance to Fighter Craft