It is one thing to demonstrate that it can integrate weapons and quite another to demonstrate that it can use them in anger. There is quite a lot about it on the UK Parliament website and it does suggest that some sort of integration will take place although no specific weapons are mentioned.

It has to demonstrate some sort of capability in this area to justify its expense as like nEUROn it will be several generations on from the first UAV’s from the 50’s and having the ability to integrate stealth, a jet engine, advanced control software etc has all been done by its predessesors. So it must be able to offer more than just a bit more autonomy to justify its existence, particularly when the UK is already flying a platform that already is attacking targets in Afghanistan.

Sorry to bring this back, but in the original first post it suggested that UK Taranis would be flying in 2010. However, in the hoopla around the damaged wind turbine in Louth in the UK this week, the newspapers are reporting that the MOD as saying that the Taranis was using the ranges in the area at the time. One of the newspapers on the attached link. Its also being reported elsewhere

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4178800/UFOs-spotted-by-hundreds-at-wind-turbine-site.html

Could this be that very rare occurance when a UK project is actually ahead of schedule ? :eek::D

Correct Doc. The bloody CVF’s have had so much design time they will need to be as ‘right first time’ as any ship has ever been 😀

Has anyone posted up any pics or websites of the newbuild Indian Carrier ? If its being launched next year as various sources are suggesting then it must be substantially complete ?

It could have been whole lot worse I guess as has been said.

Lets hope the Kestrel didn’t belong to the bloke whose job it is to scare away the pigeons 😮 😉

It says the aircraft has been moved to ‘Airbus’ military division ‘ for testing, so where will that likely be then ? I was hoping that it would stay at Cambridge 🙁

There definately was talk of this e.g. cutting out all the fancy electronics and crew in the rear and making the weapons bay much larger internally, but I don’t think it got very far as the cost would have been prohibitive as they would have had to have broken though to the pressurised part of the hull or alternatively built a larger external weapons bay. Its been quoted in numerous places on the net in the last few years that the MRA4 has the theoretical capability to carry every air launched weapon in the armoury but the money won’t be there to integrate them all, hence the limited stuff thats being added.

I think what is far more likely is that against a not too hostile environment eg anti terrorism, then limited overland ops with a few paveways etc may be an option. For anything really hostile then it might be used as a very limited stand-off weapons delivery platform assuming the will to integrate storm shadow is there. I am sure there was an artists impreesion a couple of years ago with one on each wing ? Not sure if the money is available at the moment, but crash programs to integrate weapons can be done in weeks if required. The ability to fly very long distances at short notice and deliver such a precision weapon has not gone unnoticed though.