b'Partner News Winter 2022 7MODWhat killed Mosquito and where next for the UKs loyal wingman? By Chris Summers, Principal Engineer at Morson Projects.Royal Air Force announced the Belfast Spirit AeroSystems team had been awarded a 30m contract for LANCA Phase 2, to design and manufacture a prototype under the banner of Project Mosquito.Why has it been cancelled? One potential conclusion is that the programme has simply run out of money, and DSTL and the RAF RCO were not confident enough in the progress to assign additional funds. There certainly has not been an announcement of a return of funds. What is certain, is the need for a loyal wingman capability still exists. Current conflicts are demonstrating that legacy 4th generation technologies and doctrines are no match for multi layered air defence networks. As a result, a number of key principles are The topic of fighter generations iscould offer reductions in air vehicle cost andforming to defeat the threat, namely stealth undoubtedly one of the most hotly debateddevelopment time. This was then absorbedand drone swarming. aerospace topic on the internet. However,by the RAF Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) when it comes to potential 6th generationas part of the Future Combat Air SystemSo, its with impeccable timing that BAE fighter capabilities, its almost unanimouslyTechnology umbrella. Systems recently entered the conversation accepted that the ability to control somewith two concepts, UAS Concept I and UAS form of uncrewed, semi-autonomous, loyalIn what was a departure from the normalConcept II, unveiled at Royal International Air wingman is an absolute requirement. approach for the UK defence institutions,Tattoo (RIAT) 2022:a number of competing contracts were With this in mind, what can we read intoawarded for LANCA Phase 1. The three1.The first being the larger, more stealthy the recent 24 June 2022 cancellation of theteams awarded contracts were Boeingtype, very similar in size and proposed UKs Mosquito programme by the Ministry ofDefence UK, Blue Bear Systems Researchmission profile to mosquito.Defence. and Callen-Lenz. The Callen-Lenz, Team2. The second being a much smaller, Blackdawn, was a collaboration withpotentially attritable platform, likely a Firstly we need to take a Bombardier Belfast and Northrop Grummanresponse to statements of mosquito being trip into the past. UK. The competition aimed to provide acancelled in favour of cheaper and smaller The Mosquito programme was part of theconcept which offered significant reductionsalternatives. wider Lightweight Affordable Novel Combatin cost and development time.Aircraft (LANCA) programme. LANCATime will now tell if either of these (or other) originated in 2015 as a series of DefenceIn the intervening time, the Bombardierconcepts are taken forward, but the ball is Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL)Belfast site was taken over by Spiritvery much in the court of the MOD, DSTL investigations to assess technologies whichAeroSystems and on 25 January 2021,and the RAF RCO.'