The Find a Tender listing describes the effort as a technical demonstration intended to inform future procurement options for the UK’s “Hybrid Air Wing”. It is to be jet turbine powered, capable of high subsonic speed, and launch and recover from carriers without catapults or arrested recovery systems. The system is expected to carry a credible payload with sufficient endurance, with a clear exploitation path for roles such as ISR, strike, and air-to-air refuelling. The RFI highlights that this effort should “complement F-35B Lightning, as part of QEC and its Carrier Air Wing”. The MOD notes that successful completion will provide the data and evidence needed to support a prospective procurement of a carrier-capable autonomous strike aircraft in the early 2030s.