UAVs

Images of EADS’s Barrakuda unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator have emerged on the internet, while the company remains tight-lipped about the status of its classified project. Pictured at the company’s Manching site near Munich last month, the Barrakuda resembles artists’ impressions of an EADS UCAV concept first shown in 2003. German air force chief of staff Lt Gen Klaus-Peter Stieglitz recently visited Manching to inspect the Barrakuda. The project is thought to be supported by the Spanish and Swiss defence ministries. The Barrakuda is being pursued as a national alternative to Europe’s joint Neuron UCAV technology demonstration effort.