Baracuda crash

European spyplane project suffers major setback

FRANKFURT, Sept 25 (Reuters) – European efforts to match U.S. and Israeli prowess in building unmanned spyplanes suffered a major setback when the only prototype of a model that could later be used to develop a pilotless combat jet crashed.

European aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) said it was investigating why the test model code-named Barracuda plunged into the sea off Spain on Saturday as it was trying to land at the San Javier Air Force base during its second test flight.

A spokesman for the firm had said on Monday it was reconsidering the future of the project but later said EADS remained committed to the German-backed project despite the crash.

“First of all we will investigate the reasons for the accident and then decide how we will continue the programme,” Theodor Benien said.

The fuselage and right wing of the sleek, pilotless plane had been recovered, and EADS was working with Spanish and German authorities to work out why it failed, Benien said.

The Barracuda had behaved normally during taxi, takeoff and flight before diving into the sea before landing, he said.

The aircraft’s loss is the second embarrassing blow for EADS in a week, after its Airbus civil planemaker unit was forced to acknowledge further delays to its troubled A380 superjumbo.It is also the second time EADS has faced headwinds in developing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) after problems with funding its EuroMALE long-range spy drone.

Officially the Barracuda is a “technology demonstrator” built purely to conduct trials without committing to production.

But it is widely seen as a strategically important test of Europe’s ability to compete with the United States in building unmanned fighter jets of the future, vying for sales potentially worth billions of dollars.

Israel shares the lead with the United States in drone technology, according to defence industry experts.

Initially designed for surveillance and reconnaissance with first deployment as early as 2009, the Barracuda’s designers have left open the option of developing it into a weapons platform able to strike directly behind enemy lines.

EADS hopes to capture an initial 2 billion-euro ($2.6 billion) share of the global UAV market, which it has estimated to be worth 10 billion euros through 2010.

Benien said EADS would also continue with its other UAV projects.

“We have a broad portfolio of UAV activities and this is only one project,” he said.

The Barracuda had its first test flight in Spain in April. (Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris and Jason Neely in London)