Britain unveils progress in high technology combat aircraft project

The UK unveiled a full-scale mock-up of a sixth-generation combat aircraft on the first day of the Farnborough airshow on Monday. This, described as a “concept aircraft”, is the result of the work of a consortium called Team Tempest, which is made up of British aerospace firms and the Royal Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. The major companies concerned are BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo UK (the British subsidiary of the Italian Leonardo Group, previously Finmeccanica) and MBDA UK (part of the pan-European MBDA Group). The sixth-generation will be the next generation of combat aircraft. The current leading-edge technology generation of combat aircraft is the fifth-generation, of which only two types, both American, are full operational service: the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bomber and the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighter. Other fifth-generation types are just entering service (the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and China’s Chengdu J-20) or are still under development (such as Russia’s Sukhoi Su-57). The mock-up is the first public display of progress being made in Britain’s Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative (FCAS TI), which was launched in 2015. Team Tempest is implementing the FCAS TI, which is being funded to the tune of £2-billion over ten years (2015-2025). Within the team, BAE Systems is responsible for advanced combat air systems and integration, Roll-Royce of advanced propulsion and power systems, Leonardo for advanced avionics, electronics and sensors, and MBDA for advanced weapon systems. However, the programme is most certainly open to participation by international partners.