Telemos
Role Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
National origin United Kingdom / France
Manufacturer BAE Systems / Dassault
Status Cancelled[1]
Number built 1

The BAE Systems/Dassault Telemos was an unmanned military aircraft being jointly developed by BAE Systems and Dassault.[2]

Development

The BAE Systems Mantis, which first flew in 2009, was being used as the basis of development. However, flying large UAVs in British airspace was a challenge.[3]

A mockup of Telemos was unveiled at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget in 2011; by this time BAE and Dassault were cooperating closely, with BAE in the lead role. There was not yet a formal joint requirement for the UAV from the French and British armed forces, but requirements were firming up, including round-the-clock ISTAR capability. Any acquisition would be influenced by EU competition law.[4]

More agreements were planned at the Farnborough Airshow in 2012.

Telemos was expected to be a competitor with the EADS Talarion and American UAVs for a future order by the South Korean government.[5] It could also have been a candidate for the Royal Air Force's "Scavenger" project.

There was an exclusive agreement between BAE Systems and Dassault; they would not cooperate with other partners to develop UAVs. Lacking serious rivals in the UK, this made the BAE/Dassault partnership much more likely to get contracts from the British government. The Telemos was likely to compete with the Talarion for various future European deals.[6]

The Anglo-French Telemos programme was abandoned in July 2012, as the new French socialist government considered cooperating instead with other European partners on the EADS Talarion programme.[1]

Design

Both turboprops and turbofans were considered for the initial design; the mockup shown at Le Bourget had turboprops, which would allow longer endurance at the cost of slower climbing.

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

  1. 1 2 "France and Britain Make Progress with Two Out of Three UAVs". AINonline. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  2. ↑ "BAE Systems, Dassault Name Joint UAV Effort". Aviation Week. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "BAE and Dassault to Sign Telemos MALE UAS Contract at Farnborough". UAS Vision. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "Paris 2011: BAE and Dassault team up for Telemos". AIN Online. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  5. ↑ "US Will Sell Global Hawks – Will South Korea Buy?". Defense Industry Daily. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "BAE Systems-Dassault Aviation Telemos Revives France's UAV Wars". defense-aerospace.com. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
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