The design was announced by the Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox, at the Royal International Air Tattoo air show.
The bird-like design, to be powered by hybrid electric/turboprop engines, is "Inspired by the efficient mechanics of a bird; it has wing and tail structures that mimic those of a bird of prey, while featuring individually controlled feathers that provide active flight control," according to the Secretary’s statement.
The intent of the naturalistic design is not to build the aircraft shown, but to inspire the next generation of aircraft engineers and designers.
Martin Aston, a senior engineer at Airbus, hopes the project, including lessons from nature and biomimicry, will help to make aviation “more sustainable, with cleaner, greener and quieter planes by taking design cues from nature.”