The first autonomous fighter jet built entirely in the UK has been unveiled at the Farnborough International Airshow.
Built by BAE Systems, the Brontanax CCA (collaborative combat aircraft) is designed to be operated by a Typhoon pilot or mission commander from range, allowing crewed and uncrewed aircraft to operate as a team.
The prototype aircraft was designed and built by engineers at BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire. More than 500 BAE Systems employees have been involved in its development and it is now being prepared for ground-based testing at Warton prior to flight testing.
Brontanax is similar in size to a BAE Systems Hawk trainer jet and is designed for electronic warfare, such as jamming and radar disruption, and precision strike capabilities on airborne and ground targets.
BAE said it had been developed with “an open architecture and modular design”, which should allow it to be easily iterated upon to cope with modern threats as they emerge.
The announcement comes after the...