Mike Gascoyne once built race-winning Formula 1 cars. Now the former Jordan technical chief is applying F1 technology to develop long-range military drones for the battlefield.<\/p>\n
Gascoyne has an impressively long CV in Formula 1, having worked with McLaren, Sauber, Jordan, Renault, Toyota and Team Lotus\/Caterham.<\/p>\n
Mike Gascoyne takes Formula 1 technology into defence sector<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n His most notable success as a Formula 1 designer was at Jordan when he was brought in by Eddie Jordan to replace Gary Anderson,= and designed the team\u2019s 1999 race-winning Jordan F1 car. <\/p>\n The 199 Benson & Hedges Jordan, which was powered by Honda, won the French and Belgian Grands Prix with the team finishing a career high third in the Constructors\u2019 Championship. <\/p>\n Swapping to Renault, Toyota and then Toyota, Gascoyne left the Formula 1 paddock in 2012.<\/p>\n But for over a decade, the Briton had dovetailed his Formula 1 commitments with his duties as owner and founder of MGI Motorsport, now MGI Engineering.<\/p>\n Focused on creating lightweight composite solutions with Formula 1 technology, Gascoyne\u2019s MGI company is now making headlines for its long-range missiles.<\/p>\n The company is making autonomous drones that are not only faster but also lighter than competitors.<\/p>\n Added to that, MGI\u2019s Tigershark and Skyshark drones also use F1 sensors to map the battlefield, providing the drones with backup should the GPS navigation systems be jammed.<\/p>\n Gascoyne told the Daily Mail: \u201cFormula 1 is 25 years ahead, as an industry, as teams will spend any amount of money to get ahead.<\/p>\n \u201cThe UK is world-leading in F1 and in aerodynamics. So we are ideally placed to bring a depth of knowledge and technology to the defence sector. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m proud of British engineering and excited about what we can bring to the battlefield.<\/p>\n \u201cThese long-range drones are not a million miles from a racing car, so a lot of the tech, materials and design have transferred seamlessly.\u201d<\/p>\n MGI is one of three UK suppliers, alongside MBDA UK and Rotron Aerospace, that have been selected by the UK government to provide long-range strike capability missiles.<\/p>\n Formula 1 tech is also being used in hospitals in the UK with pit stop principles in play.<\/p>\n A partnership between the Ferrari F1 team and the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London asked the question \u2018could our handovers be this precise?\u2019<\/p>\n To turn this vision into reality, the hospital brought in Ferrari\u2019s technical team to observe and provide insights with the verdict being a clear leader needed to be appointed, ie F1\u2019s lollipop man, workflow and inefficiencies were identified, and a seven-page, step-by-step guide was created for patient handoffs.<\/p>\n The results led to a 42% reduction in technical errors, 49% fewer information omissions, and, most importantly, lives were saved.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n