UK and France agree £120m UCAS deal

Contracts worth £120 million have been awarded as part of the early phase of an Anglo-French study into unmanned combat air systems (UCAS).

The two-year feasibility phase will involve six industry partners exploring concepts and options for the potential collaborative purchase of a UCAS.

Two national designs and concepts are to be developed and compared, which would then lead to a joint one that could form the basis of a future UCAS programme. Both countries will undertake work totalling £80 million.

Bernard Gray, the Ministry of Defence's chief of defence materiel, described the development of UCAS as of "vital importance" to the UK and France, adding that cooperation between the countries "will see military, technological and financial benefit and sustain skills to fulfil our mutual needs and aspirations in the combat air sector".

By the 2030s, a UCAS capability will be able to perform a range of key tasks, including surveillance, intelligence gathering and carrying out strikes in hostile territories.