The most secretive piece of airspace in Australia – the RAAF-run Woomera flight test range in South Australia – will make history later this year when BAE’s Taranis makes its maiden test flight above the desert. The rocket range is the second busiest launch pad in the world after NASA’s Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Extreme secrecy surrounds the Taranis project, named after the Celtic god of thunder and built by aerospace giant BAE Systems.
Resembling an insect and using the delta-shaped “flying wing” technology favoured by modern-day stealth aircraft such as America’s B-2 stealth bomber, Taranis is designed to fly above the speed of sound over long distances undetected by enemy radars to attack targets with an array of precision missiles and bombs.
The company said Taranis was designed to utilise the most advanced means possible of achieving low observability.
“This includes both the systems and technology inside the aircraft as well as the shape, design and finish of the exterior of the aircraft. This does mean that there are aspects of the exterior design of the aircraft which remain classified,” it said.
Other details such as range and top speed are also top-secret.
Source: news.com.au