Aerospace groups battle to build European fighter drone

Three aerospace groups are competing to design and build the next generation of unmanned military attack aircraft for a £600 million ($952 million) proposal launched jointly by Britain and France.

The groups involved in the bid were BAE Systems partnered with France's Dassault Systems, a joint bid by Cobham and General Atomics and, thirdly, Airbus-owner EADS, which held partnership discussions with the missiles group MBDA and France's Thales.

The UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) must be able to perform civilian duties, such as coastal surveillance or providing security and intelligence, as well as having offensive capability, the UK government said.

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