Composites: Case Studies

Case Study 2 of 4

The Mantis UAS (unmanned autonomous system)

The Mantis UAS (unmanned autonomous system) demonstrator was delivered to BAE Systems in early 2009, before undertaking its maiden flight.The assembly of the aircraft and ground control infrastructure took place at Lola and the show model was unveiled in Delhi in the New Year.
Gary Bootle, Head of ASFC Operations for BAE Systems Warton, said of the project, “Lola have undertaken some excellent work around the production of the fuselage components, specifically the monocoque which houses a five-metre long fuel cell. With the project seeing design work one day and manufacturing the next, Lola’s exceptional ability to respond rapidly to changes in design requirements has been put to good use.”

“Our partnership with BAE Systems is hugely significant on the Mantis project,” said Lola Group Managing Director Andrew Manahan. “It rewards our focus on becoming the partner of choice to Tier 1 UAV manufacturers,building on our success with Thales and UTACs. It also underscores the value of our ability to deliver proactive support, engineering ingenuity, and speed of build.This is exactly the kind of business that we can deliver on as a Group.”