The UK Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace MP, has reaffirmed intentions for Britain to spearhead the creation of an advanced aerial combat demonstrator, which will be essential in validating the technologies and design principles required to execute the UK’s Future Combat Air System.
The initiative is spearheaded by BAE Systems, the sovereign leader in the UK combat air sector, collaborating with the Ministry of Defence and several suppliers across the nation. This groundbreaking project aims to produce the first aerial combat demonstrator in a generation – engineered and developed within the UK. The prototype aircraft is expected to take flight within the upcoming five years.
This flagship endeavor is part of a portfolio of innovative technologies being established by Team Tempest. These ideas are intended to showcase and evaluate the next-generation combat air competencies, tools, methodologies, and techniques essential for ensuring that Tempest, the UK’s Future Combat Air System, is operational by 2035.
Team Tempest embodies the expertise of the Ministry of Defence and leading entities in UK combat air, including BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, Rolls-Royce, and MBDA UK. Initiated in 2018, alongside the UK’s Combat Air Strategy, Tempest is poised to play a vital role in sustaining long-term defense and security for the UK, while delivering substantial economic advantages to the nation, securing valuable skills and careers, and fostering prosperity across various UK regions.
Engineers at BAE Systems in Northern England are at the forefront of the design, testing, evaluation, and manufacturing process, integrating cutting-edge digital engineering technologies such as synthetic modeling and model-based systems engineering. These inventive design and engineering strategies are demonstrating a notable capacity to drastically reduce the timeline needed to design, deliver, and upgrade intricate combat aircraft.
Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, stated:
“I am thrilled that the UK, alongside Italy and Japan, is collaborating on comparable combat air trajectories. Our partnerships with Japan and Italy in pioneering technology like this highlight the strength of our global alliances.
“The design and development of the prototype aircraft signifies a significant milestone, showcasing the accomplishments and capabilities of our engineers, programmers, and software developers. This program will attract opportunities for a multitude of brilliant minds and talents from across the UK.”
Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive of BAE Systems, remarked:
“We acknowledge our obligation in delivering dependable sovereign combat air capabilities. We are teaming up with the UK’s highly driven and proficient supply chain to speed up the innovation of the nation’s future air power; incorporating new technologies so that the Royal Air Force and its allies can maintain an edge over adversaries.
“The demonstrator represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, allowing both seasoned and young engineers to contribute to a mission that holds significant implications for our national defense and security.”
The demonstrator will provide validation for the essential technologies, methodologies, and tools that will be utilized on the core platform. As part of the comprehensive efforts in developing Tempest, the demonstrator program also plays a role in retaining, enhancing, and stimulating the upcoming generation of skills and expertise necessary to execute this ambitious initiative.
Tempest was unveiled in 2018, in response to the UK’s Combat Air Strategy, which outlined a bold vision for the future. It emphasized the significance of the UK’s sovereign combat air industry in ensuring that the UK maintains options in fulfilling its defense and security capabilities and initiated the program to deliver the successor to Typhoon.
The strategy also acknowledged the extensive benefits the sector brings to the nation and committed to ensuring that future procurement decisions consider military capability, international standing, and economic gain, alongside the overall expense, to provide maximum advantage for the UK.
