The BAE Systems Mantis UAV completed its first flight at the Woomera range in South Australia recently, BAE announced on November 13.
The Mantis is a large medium altitude long endurance (MALE) UAV with twin pusher turboprop engines mounted on rear fuselage sponsons, and was displayed in mockup form at the 2009 Avalon Airshow. BAE is using the Woomera range due to airspace restrictions in the UK and Europe.
“Mantis has gone from concept to flight in just 19 months and the MoD, BAE Systems and a number of industry parties have worked together to make this happen,” Chris Allam, managing director of the Autonomous Systems & Future Capability business within BAE Systems, said.
The Mantis is designed to be quickly broken down and air transportable to a forward operating location, and will be able to carry a wide range of sensors.
