“RAF Rapid Capabilities Office Unveils Insights on Project Mosquito Review”

Project Mosquito, the forthcoming uncrewed Combat Aircraft Technology Demonstration being examined by the Royal Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO), will not advance past the design stage.

The resolution, reached by mutual consent with industry collaborators, comes after a comprehensive review of the technical demonstrator and the overarching Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft (LANCA) Programme.

Air Commodore Jez Holmes, Leader of the Rapid Capabilities Office stated:

Through Project Mosquito and various experimental endeavors, the Royal Air Force has achieved considerable advancements and garnered significant insights into understanding and leveraging a range of future uncrewed capabilities. This choice optimizes the knowledge gained thus far and facilitates a strategic shift for the LANCA programme. The Rapid Capabilities Office will now promptly initiate measures to vigorously pursue the RAF’s steadfast commitment to integrating cutting-edge uncrewed capabilities into the immediate operational mix, providing more immediate advantageous value.

The Royal Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) aspires to enhance the capabilities delivered to the frontline, explore prospects offered by emerging technologies, and capitalize on diversity in thought with innovative and inventive strategies.

The decision to halt the specific manufacturing technology demonstrator will not influence the broader objective of creating the most proficient and cost-effective force composition possible, nor the “Loyal Wingman” concepts currently being assessed within the Future Combat Air System Enterprise. The initiative continues to focus on the post-2035 capability landscape, where integration through a system-of-systems framework has been a crucial requirement from the commencement.

The choice was guided by concurrent analyses and capability experimentation undertaken by the RAF and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). The accumulation of assessments determined that more advantageous capabilities and cost-efficiency seem attainable through exploration of smaller, less expensive, yet still highly proficient additive features.