Britain and France take steps to jointly develop, launch military drone

Britain and France Wednesday assigned two major defence contractors to a two-year feasibility study over a joint military drone project, with the aim of getting it off the ground by 2030. The British and French governments tasked BAE Systems and Dassault Aviation with the study following a political agreement reached at the Farnborough air show earlier this year. The contract to carry out the joint study is worth $187 million and will be supplemented by joint Franco-British government funding worth $124 million over the same period. The ultimate aim is to have combat drones capable of carrying out surveillance and observation missions, identifying targets and launching strikes in enemy territory, according to the British defence ministry.

Co-operation between France and the UK is seen as the optimum way to progress a UCAS (Unmanned Combat Air System) solution, while supporting both governments’ intentions for closer defence ties.

Joint statement of British and French defence contractors