My right honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Derek Twigg) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

We are today announcing the award of a £124 million contract to BAE Systems for Project Taranis, a project to develop unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. BAE systems will lead an industry team including Rolls-Royce, Qinetiq, and Smiths Aerospace.

Project Taranis will explore how cutting-edge technology can be integrated into the UAV to deliver a new front-line capability. Taranis will be one of the world's largest UAV demonstrators, about the size of a Hawk jet, and will integrate stealth technology around an intelligent, autonomous system. It will also test the potential to carry ground-attack weapons.

The project is a key deliverable of the Defence Industrial Strategy, targeting the development and sustainment of key industrial expertise in the aerospace sector. It is an example of the Ministry of Defence and industry jointly funding research and development for mutual benefit and the rapid pull-through of new technologies encouraged in the Defence Technology Strategy. It will adopt an innovative approach with military staff and scientists working alongside industry in a new partnership to deliver better transparency and information-sharing.