Defence giant BAE Systems has unveiled three new unmanned vehicles which it hopes will develop into multi-billion pound contracts which will support thousands of jobs in the county.

These include a remote control ground vehicle which can check under lorries for illegal immigrants, an airship which could be used to relay communications at sports events or in natural disasters, and a high-powered unmanned aircraft for surveillance in war zones.

A team of designers at the company's base at Warton, near Preston, are leading the development of the products which were revealed for the first time at the Farnborough International Air Show this week.

They include:

Hero
A semi-autonomous ground vehicle the size of a briefcase equipped with lights and cameras to check underneath lorries, coaches and trailers arriving at busy UK ports.
BAE has started trials with the UK Border Agency to test how it would cut down on people needed to check under the 10,000 vehicles entering the country each week.
BAE civil autonomous systems director Richard Williams said: "Immigrants will use any means to get past immigration checks and catching them can be a back-breaking, dirty and dangerous job."

GA22 airship
A 22-metre long airship developed by Swedish balloonist Per Lindstrand which BAE is planning to bring into its fleet of autonomous vehicles.
It is currently radio controlled but is to be developed to make it completely unmanned to carry hi-tech surveillance equipment for use in covering sporting events or for monitoring disaster zones. Mr Williams said: "The GA22 fits perfectly into the fleet we are developing and has the potential of opening up a range of new markets."

Mantis
A large twin-engine aircraft which would be completely unmanned and used for surveillance and possibly combat missions in war zones.
BAE is working alongside the Ministry of Defence on developing a prototype of the aircraft which is expected to take to the skies for the first time early next year.
Mark Kane, managing director of BAE's autonomous air systems and future capability, said: "The aim is that Mantis will build on the several years of experience within BAE and the wider UK industry and can provide tangible military capability for future UK operations."