Europe Tests Drone Warplanes in Battle to Resist U.S. Domination
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BAE Systems Plc, Britain’s biggest defense company, has tested its first combat drone with jet fighter-like capabilities, stepping up European efforts to close a 10-year gap to the U.S. in developing a new class of warplane.
The U.K. Parliament’s defense committee said in a report that flight trials of BAE’s Taranis drone have taken place in 2013, the first public acknowledgment that the model has flown. The milestone comes as the Neuron combat drone developed by France’s Dassault Aviation SA and Saab AB of Sweden resumes flying after months of ground tests.