内容摘要：One significant section of the video shows drones homing in on two Beriev A-50s, giant AWACS aircraft first produced in the Soviet Union.

One significant section of the video shows drones homing in on two Beriev A-50s, giant AWACS aircraft first produced in the Soviet Union.

Rolls-Royce declines to go into details about Reaction's collapse, but Mr Varvill is more specific."Rolls-Royce said it had other priorities and the UK military has very little money."

Aviation is a business with a very long gestation time for a product. It can take 20 years to develop an aircraft. This unforgiving journey is known as crossing the Valley of Death.Mr Varvill knew the business had to raise more funds towards the end of 2024 but big investors were reluctant to jump on board."The game was being played right to the very end, but to cross the Valley of Death in aerospace is very hard."

What was the atmosphere like in those last days as the administrators moved in?"It was pretty grim, we were all called into the lecture theatre and the managing director gave a speech about how the board 'had tried everything'. Then came the unpleasant experience of handing over passes and getting personal items. It was definitely a bad day at the office."

This bad day was too much for some. "A few people were in tears. A lot of them were shocked and upset because they'd hoped we could pull it off right up to the end."

It was galling for Mr Varvill "because we were turning it around with an improved engine. Just as we were getting close to succeeding we failed. That's a uniquely British characteristic.""They've removed all American alcohol beverage products from their store shelves!"

Mr Stults adds: "We just want to compete on an even playing field with our friends and neighbours all over the world. That's our ask and that's our hope.""It was going great until it fell apart." Richard Varvill recalls the emotional shock that hits home when a high-tech venture goes off the rails.

The former chief technology officer speaks ruefully about his long career trying to bring a revolutionary aerospace engine to fruition at UK firm Reaction Engines.The origins of Reaction Engines go back to the Hotol project in the 1980s. This was a futuristic space plane that caught the public imagination with the prospect of a British aircraft flying beyond the atmosphere.