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British Typhoon in the Falklands

We've lots of wildlife in the #Falklands - By far our favorite bird species.. The Typhoon. 😎 pic.twitter.com/2RwwPktlvM

— Falkland Islands (@falklands_utd) March 25, 2016

British Army - Challenger 2 tanks on Salisbury Plain Training Area during Exercise Tractable

A Challenger 2 tank returns to the staging area after 24 hour movement around #SalisburyPlain on Exercise #tractable pic.twitter.com/GNed65ul7T

— British Army (@BritishArmy) March 7, 2016

Sky Wall presented Anti-UAV Defense System which uses giant net to capture UAVs

SkyWall presented Anti-UAV Defense System which uses giant net to capture UAVs pic.twitter.com/tZ51ES1S1F

— Warfare Worldwide (@WarfareWW) March 5, 2016

British Taranis Stealth UCAV is Expanding Flight Envelope over Australia

A side view of the Taranis UCAV in flight. Photo: BAE Systems/MOD

The serrated contour of the weapon’s bay is clearly seen in this photo, where the stealthy Taranis shows its belly and underwing area on a banking turn. Photo: BAE Systems, UK MOD.

Taranis awaiting takeoff at Woomera Test Range, South Australia. Photo: BAE Systems/UK MOD

Taranis on the runway. Photo: BAE Systems/UK MOD

Last week the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and BAE Systems confirmed that the Taranis stealthy Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator surpassed all expectations during its first flight trials last year. Since the first flight, conducted August 10th, 2013 the UCAV has been expanding the flight envelope in preparation for the follow-on operational demonstration phase.

Taranis is designed to demonstrate the UK’s ability to create an unmanned air system which, under the control of a human operator, is capable of undertaking sustained surveillance, marking targets, gathering intelligence, deterring adversaries and carrying out strikes in hostile territory.

Taranis made its maiden flight at the Woomera test range in South Australia on Saturday 10th August 2013, under the command of BAE Systems’ test pilot Bob Fraser. The first flight lasted only 15 minutes, in which the demonstrator aircraft took off, rotation, ‘climb-out’ and returned for landing. In a number of follow-on flights that took place last year, Taranis extended flight duration to one hour, operating at a variety of altitudes and speeds, as part of the envelope testing.

“The findings from the aircraft’s flight prove that the UK has developed a significant lead in understanding unmanned aircraft which could strike with precision over a long range whilst remaining undetected.” BAE Sources said, indicating the technological advances made through Taranis will also help the UK MOD and Royal Air Force make decisions on the future mix of manned and unmanned fast jet aircraft and how they will operate together in a safe and effective manner for the UK’s defences. The MOD is considering a yet undefined ‘Future Combat Air System ‘FCAS’ – possibly a UCAV to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon in RAF service as the Typhoon reaches retirement by 2030. The UK and France announced an agreement to explore collaborate in the development of such platform, at an investment of £120 million. The two countries are expected to sign a formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) to launch the two-year program in July 2014.

UK Ministry of Defence amasses £4BILLION fleet of 657 military drones for use in deadly warzones

It includes 10 Reaper MQ-9s, which are armed with Hellfire ­missiles plus laser-guided 500lb bombs and can hover 20,000ft above targets for more than 20 hours. Britain has amassed a force of 657 military drones, the Sunday People can reveal.The £4billion fleet of unmanned ­aircraft built to probe deep into the deadliest warzones is one of the largest in the world.

And they include 10 Reaper MQ-9s, which are armed with Hellfire ­missiles plus laser-guided 500lb bombs and can hover 20,000ft above targets for more than 20 hours.Drones have been blamed for a series of civilian deaths in Afghanistan in recent years – but top brass claim they have also saved the lives of scores of British troops lives by killing hundreds of Taliban insurgents.

The Afghanistan Reapers are ­piloted by a two-man crew sitting 3,500 miles away at RAF Waddington, Lincs.But most drones aren’t armed – they just spy or fly recce missions.A Freedom of Information request found the biggest number of UK drones are the 324 Black Hornet Nano micro-helicopters, ­only four inches long and an inch wide (100x25mm). They fly over insurgent ­strongholds to film and take pictures.

Then there are 222 Desert Hawks, plastic spy-drones with a 4ft 3in ­wingspan (1.3m). David Cameron held one on a visit to Afghanistan last June.For tougher operations, 54 Watchkeepers can stay aloft for 17 hours.Nine more are due in service soon to ­replace ­ageing Hermes 450s. By ­contrast 30 Tarantula Hawks weigh just 20lbs apiece and are used as recce aides by bomb-disposal teams in Afghanistan.

Lastly there are eight ScanEagles, a specialist drone being used in the ­campaign against Somali pirates.Drones are likely to make up a third of all RAF working aircraft by 2030 but human rights groups fear they could be used to spy on the innocent public. The MoD declined to comment.