UK awards contract for next phase of development of its Tempest future fighter programme

UK-based global major aerospace and defence group BAE Systems (BAES) announced on Thursday that it had been awarded a £250-million contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) to further advance the design and development of the country’s Tempest Future Combat Air System (FCAS). The signing of this contract marks the formal initiation of the concept and assessment phase for Tempest. The FCAS is being developed by a group of UK companies and UK subsidiaries of major Western aerospace and defence enterprises, collectively known as Team Tempest. These are BAES itself, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo UK and MDBA UK, plus experts from the UK MOD. Tempest is expected to become operational in the mid-2030s.