UAVs

BAE Systems' Mantis is on display here at AUVSI but the programme still awaits its first flight at the Woomera test range in south Australia. The Mantis mock-up has been seen to carry four Raytheon Paveway IV 500lb precision-guided bombs and two air-to-surface missiles resembling MBDA's Brimstone design.

BAE (Booth 266) will not say when it expects the Mantis to have its first flight, but the tactical UAV has already been assembled at Woomera in advance of the milestone event.

• All the latest from AUVSI's Unmanned Systems North America 2009
• UAVs to watch this decade