Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Contains threads on Royal Air Force equipment of the past, present and future.
Ares
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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by Ares »

Timmymagic wrote: Quite surprised by that figure. Thats a huge amount of money for the integration of a seeker that already exists (although it does involve some minituarisation and a new GaN array). The Meteor does have a smaller diameter of its missile body than AAM-4B, perhaps 'squeezing' it all in is where the cost is. Japanese military development programmes are well known for their high cost however.
JNAAM program isn't just for seeker replacement of the Meteor missile. It also includes the development of the whole new guide section featuring low RCS detection/targeting technology.

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motiv
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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by motiv »

Hi, My first post (just been a lurker).

Saw this pop up on youtube, sounds like they're considering no pilot for the tempest as a possibility. Lots of other good stuff in there also.


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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

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Welcome aboard @motiv :)

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by ArmChairCivvy »

The vid @0:45 to 0:50
... can anyone tell if the Japanese concept looks any different?
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by Timmymagic »

This is a pretty good video demonstrating the complexities and usefullness of Remote Carriers and Manned/Unmanned Teaming.


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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

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https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.ft.c ... 12ce25d88d

Britain’s next-generation fighter programme will support roughly 20,000 jobs and deliver £25.3bn in value to the UK economy by 2050, according to initial estimates that will form part of an outline business case to be handed to government later this year.

BAE Systems on Thursday published initial findings from PwC on the potential economic contribution from the Tempest programme over the next 30 years. The UK defence giant is hoping the business case will help to unlock further commitment to the multibillion-pound project, even as defence spending comes under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.

The outline business case will assess three options: going with Tempest; being a junior partner on an international programme; or simply buying an off-the-shelf fighter. The government is expected to make its preference known in the coming months, releasing funding for the next phase.

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by ArmChairCivvy »

SW1 wrote: The outline business case will assess three options: going with Tempest; being a junior partner on an international programme; or simply buying [an] off-the-shelf
Good to see that when the sums get big enough, pencils get sharpened
- Canada is a good example: when their DoD made a dog's dinner out of the first round of fighter procurement, assessing the figures for alternatives was taken out of their hands and given to the ministry for infrastucture (not just used to counting in bns, but likely to be more objective in how to go about the figures)
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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Jensy
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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by Jensy »

Have used up my free FT articles, buy saw Tony Osborne quoted a DV/GVA multiplier on Twitter. Asked him if that was based on a UK only project:
"UK only at this point, this is the bullet point: "For every £100 of direct value added generated by the Tempest programme partners, £220 of GVA 4 (direct, indirect and induced) is estimated to be created across the UK economy."

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

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From the Telegraph
Futuristic Tempest fighter jet could bring £25bn economic boost

Defence firms make case for pilotless stealth jet 'critical' to survival of UK combat air industry – but no final decision has yet been made
By Alan Tovey, Industry Editor 15 October 2020 • 12:30pm

The Tempest programme to build a futuristic laser-armed stealth fighter without a pilot will deliver £25bn of benefits to the UK economy and create valuable technology spin-offs, it has been claimed.

The projection comes as a consortium led by BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, MBDA and Leonardo that is driving the project to get the new aircraft into service by 2035.

An economic analysis of Tempest conducted by PwC calculates the programme will also support 20,000 skilled jobs a year between 2026 to 2050.

More than 200 UK companies including SMEs are working on Tempest employing about 1,800 people.

BAE, which released the report, said the potential economic benefit of Tempest did not include any export sales.

Citing “commercial sensitivities”, the defence giant declined to say how much producing Tempest was expected to cost. Defence analysts suggest the bill could top £25bn.

In an attempt to reduce costs and eliminate delays, the aircraft is being designed from the inside out, rather than the traditional method of creating a platform on to which sensors and weapons are added.

The integrated approach is intended to smooth development by identifying and ironing out problems early. Machine learning and AI also mean much of the testing is being done in a virtual environment, further speeding up work and cutting costs.

The Government and industry have committed £2bn into early work on Tempest, which was launched at the 2018 Farnborough air show. Since then Sweden and Italy have joined the project with the involvement of Saab and Leonardo.

It is hoped other countries will also join to help share costs and expand the market, increasing the number of aircraft likely to be built and reducing their individual cost.

If Tempest goes ahead, it will preserve the UK’s military aircraft industry, which is historically responsible for about 80pc of the country’s defence exports.

Michael Christie, director of combat air at BAE, said: “Tempest is an exciting and ambitious multi-decade programme that will help to preserve our national security whilst at the same time driving significant economic benefits for the UK.”

He described Tempest as “critical to sustaining the UK’s combat air sector”, meaning that the country will not have to rely on other nations to ensure freedom of action for its military air power.

Coming ahead of the integrated review of Britain’s military capabilities which is likely to see some programmes cut or even stopped, the economic review will form part of the consortium’s case for Tempest to go ahead.

The Government is expected to make a decision on Tempest at the end of 2025 and there is no guarantee the jet will be built.

Other options include a limited programme where technology being developed for Tempest is combined with other international fighter programmes.

This would give UK companies a share of the work, such as with the F-35 Lightning, where Britain is the only tier 1 partner.

Alternatively, the Government could just buy another jet built abroad – almost certainly from the US.
A closer look at The Tempest fighter jet’s features

Plug and shoot weapons

Adding new weapons to Tempest should be as simple as “plugging in a USB stick to your computer”, according to missile company MBDA. The business says it is working to break the cycle of defence programmes taking years and hundreds of millions of pounds by experimenting with how to integrate weapons on to aircraft virtually, meaning less real-world tests.

As well as traditional missiles and bombs, Tempest is eventually expected to be armed with lasers and operate swarms of other aircraft which present new challenges on how they can be targeted and fired. The ultimate aim is that upgrades become like the IT industry, with software being installed rather than expensive and slow hardware having to be built.

Wearable cockpit

Pilots may control Tempest with hand gestures

Tempest may not have a traditional physical joystick and throttles to fly the aircraft with, with BAE working on a “wearable cockpit” instead. This would involve augmented and virtual reality displays projected inside pilot’s helmet visor, with them using gestures to control the aircraft or simply by tracking their eye movements. BAE believes this could give a “split-second advantage” in the the fast world of air combat.

Virtual crew

Pilots could have an on-board 'virtual co-pilot'

Engineers are looking at making Tempest “optionally crewed”, meaning it could have a pilot in the cockpit, be controlled by operators on the ground or even flown by artificial intelligence.

Aircraft without a human on board could be sent into the highest-risk situations, flying autonomously or with human input. Other concepts include a “virtual co-pilot” that can handle some of the more mundane tasks, allowing humans to focus on decision-making and combat. The virtual pilot could take the form of an avatar in the cockpit interacting with the pilot.

Information wars

Having the best information in air combat will decide who wins

While having the latest weapons and stealth technology are vital, the key to winning future air battles is information that helps identify and locates enemies as threats advance and proliferate.

Leonardo UK is developing a new radar technology system which can collect and process unprecedented amounts of data which can be fed to the pilot in an understandable way that also prioritises the most vital information.

The new sensor, called the “Multi-Function Radio Frequency System”, collects and processes on board 10,000 times more data than existing systems. In one second it is capable of handling the equivalent of the amount of internet traffic of a large city such as Edinburgh. Such data will give pilots an “unprecedented view of the battle space”, according to Leonardo, helping “pilots make more confident decisions because of multiple sources of data gathering”.

Challenges to developing fighters of the future

Knowledge sharing

Long gaps between major aircraft programmes risk knowledge and skills accumulated on previous projects being lost. Decades between new aircraft means engineers who developed understanding of how systems and concepts work can have retired by the time the next one comes along, meaning skills have to be expensively and time-consumingly relearned by the following generation.

Leonardo has worked out that 30pc of engineers in the Tempest radar team are younger than 30 and another 30pc are over 55. At the company’s Edinburgh site where the team is based, 25pc of engineers hold 19,876 years of experience between them, meaning a risk of a cliff edge of “experience drain” as senior staff retire.

To avoid this it has launched a “brain to brain” scheme, where “greybeard” staff approaching retirement spend some of their final year in employment passing their hard-earned know-how on to the company’s younger staff.

Cooling system

Tempest's engines are expected to run hotter than previous models

Tempest’s Rolls-Royce engines will have advanced combustion systems which run hotter than previous designs, making the engines more efficient. This means that the aircraft will have lower fuel consumption meaning they can have greater range, more time on station or even be smaller as they need less fuel than comparable aircraft.

However, the challenge comes in how to deal with this heat so it does not melt the combustion chambers of turbine behind them, meaning developing new thermal management techniques is a key technology for the company.

Energy generation

Tempest is expected to be equipped with 'directed energy weapons' such as lasers

Another task for Rolls-Royce is generating the vast amounts of energy needed by the “directed energy weapons” – ie lasers – that Tempest is ultimately expected to be equipped with.

Producing and handling so much power will also create a great deal of heat and the energy also needs to be stored ready to be used by the weapons.

Williams Advanced Engineering, the company that helped create batteries and calling systems used in Formula E racing, has been brought on board Tempest and is adapting energy storage and cooling technology that had its first outing on the racetrack.

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by Ron5 »

I enjoyed the Telegraph comment on the article that gathered the most upvotes ..
Go for it. £25B is peanuts - HMG is hosing that around every fortnight on complete and utter ineffectual nonsense.
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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

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Financial Times ..
BAE makes case for UK’s next-generation Tempest fighter

Group to point to £25bn economic potential as well as keeping technology in country
The programme as a whole aims to include both manned and unmanned aircraft, swarming technology, and perhaps even laser weaponry © PA

Peggy Hollinger, International business editor 7 hours ago

Britain’s next-generation fighter programme will support roughly 20,000 jobs and deliver £25.3bn in value to the UK economy by 2050, according to initial estimates that will form part of an outline business case to be handed to government later this year.

BAE Systems on Thursday published initial findings from PwC on the potential economic contribution from the Tempest programme over the next 30 years. The UK defence giant is hoping the business case will help to unlock further commitment to the multibillion-pound project, even as defence spending comes under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.

The outline business case will assess three options: going with Tempest; being a junior partner on an international programme; or simply buying an off-the-shelf fighter. The government is expected to make its preference known in the coming months, releasing funding for the next phase.

The UK has already committed £2bn to the programme, which aims to see manufacture begin by 2025, with a combat air system delivered by 2035 which can then be upgraded regularly to last until the end of the century.

Tempest was launched in 2018 in response to the announcement from France and Germany that the two countries would work together on a sixth-generation stealth jet without the UK. Britain has since collaborated with Sweden’s Saab and Italy’s Leonardo in a bid to share costs.

The timing of Tempest was important before Covid, but it is very important now
Rob Loveday, growth strategy director at GE Aviation Systems UK

The programme as a whole aims to incorporate far more than the traditional combat jet, and is being described as a “system of systems”. It is expected to include both manned and unmanned aircraft, swarming technology, and perhaps even laser weaponry.

But this technology will come at a price. While there is no official estimate for the total cost of the programme, Justin Bronk, defence analyst at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank, has put the price tag at up to £25bn. The UK’s entire defence budget last year was less than £40bn.

Yet government officials have recognised the need to maintain the UK’s combat air capability, as production of the Typhoon fighter winds down.

The UK has a substantial share in the production of the F-35 US fighter jet programme developed by Lockheed Martin. However it was not involved in the development of the jet and that programme has done little to maintain cutting-edge system expertise.

The Ministry of Defence estimates that the F-35 programme “will have contributed £35bn to the UK economy over its lifetime” with more than 3,000 ordered globally.

While this is lower than the value-added estimate for Tempest, the PwC study — commissioned by BAE on behalf of the programme's partners — did not include “the full potential of export opportunities, R&D investment or the value of the programme beyond 2050”, BAE said.

The Tempest programme is also being seen as providing critical support for an aerospace industry devastated by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tempest would encourage innovation that otherwise might not happen given there was not likely to be a new commercial aircraft platform for several years, said Rob Loveday, growth strategy director at GE Aviation Systems UK, which earlier this year joined the Tempest consortium. “The timing of Tempest was important before Covid, but it is very important now,” he said.

BAE puts suppliers on notice of major shake-up

BAE and its partners on Thursday showcased some of the innovative concepts being developed for the programme, including new radar capable of providing more than 10,000 times more data than existing systems, and a “wearable cockpit” with aircraft controls projected via virtual and augmented reality.

Pilots would be able to manipulate and feel virtual controls or data displayed inside a helmet with simple hand gestures thanks to tracking and haptic — or touch — technology developed by a small Bristol start-up, Ultraleap.

This would help the pilot focus on mission command rather than flying, said Suzy Broadbent, human factors engineering lead at BAE. It would also eliminate the need for buttons and controls in the cockpit, making upgrades easier and cheaper through software updates.

“It will be easier to customise,” said Ms Broadbent. “Our starting point is: ‘Let’s not put things in the cockpit just because they have always been in the cockpit.’ The question is what does pilot actually need to do.”

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by Ron5 »

Top comment on FT ..
Hang on a minute. Why is Britannia partnering with the Swedes and I-talians to build this? The contract should rewarded to a proper British company like Dyson or Ineos. They have absolutely no aerospace expertise you say? That's nothing a £400k donation to the Tory party can't solve. It's not like us kleptocrats will ever have to fly these things!

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by ArmChairCivvy »

Jensy wrote:For every £100 of direct value added generated by the Tempest programme partners, £220 of GVA 4
While I'm definitely trying to poo-pooh the prgm - quite the opposite - it is still worth noting that the cost (that we will fork out) and neither of those quoted 'things' are the same.
Ron5 wrote: Citing “commercial sensitivities”, the defence giant declined to say how much producing Tempest was expected to cost. Defence analysts suggest the bill could top £25bn.
That's w/o life time cost elements; stripping those out from the Typhoon (UK*) number; I wonder how that would compare? [*Produced by a NAO report]
Ron5 wrote:Other options include a limited programme where technology being developed for Tempest is combined with other international fighter programmes.
Not included (as a hybrid) in the analysis, but we are already going with that - with the Swedes.
Ron5 wrote:Tempest’s Rolls-Royce engines will have advanced combustion systems which run hotter than previous designs, making the engines more efficient. This means that the aircraft will have lower fuel consumption meaning they can have greater range, more time on station or even be smaller as they need less fuel than comparable aircraft.
Sounds much like the new engine for F-35... coming in the mid '20s
Ron5 wrote:growth strategy director at GE Aviation Systems UK, which earlier this year joined the Tempest consortium
GE and RR worked together on the alternative engine for the F-35... good to see them coming together (again)
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by SW1 »

ArmChairCivvy wrote:GE and RR worked together on the alternative engine for the F-35... good to see them coming together (again)
There talking about GE U.K. subsidiaries (smiths) Particularly in Cheltenham and hamble I would think rather than GE aero engines.

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by Roders96 »

Whilst I want the RAF to have the best they possibly can, anyone that thinks a bought and paid for consultancy is as objective and unbiased as a treasury analysis is wrong.

The only way they get the next job is by giving BAE what they want. The figures in that report are definitely inflated at most every opportunity.

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

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Roders96 wrote:.. as objective and unbiased as a treasury analysis ..
Like their analysis of the impacts of Brexit?? Mmm I don't think so. The Treasury is just as biassed and nonobjective as anyone.

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by ArmChairCivvy »

Roders96 wrote: anyone that thinks a bought and paid for consultancy is as objective and unbiased as a treasury analysis is wrong.
Of course they are (and ignore Ron's anti-Treasury/ Gvmnt rants).
- the paid for consultancy is good in the way that it sets the bar for the rigour of the analysis... and :!: the Treasury will have to do one better
- you know, they use a lot of consultants in the Gvmnt, too
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

Roders96
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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by Roders96 »

ArmChairCivvy wrote:
Roders96 wrote: anyone that thinks a bought and paid for consultancy is as objective and unbiased as a treasury analysis is wrong.
Of course they are (and ignore Ron's anti-Treasury/ Gvmnt rants).
- the paid for consultancy is good in the way that it sets the bar for the rigour of the analysis... and :!: the Treasury will have to do one better
- you know, they use a lot of consultants in the Gvmnt, too
Haha! I would explain why I know all too well that to be true.

But that might not be appropriate.

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by ArmChairCivvy »

Roders96 wrote:I would explain why I know all too well that to be true.

But that might not be appropriate.
I didn't pitch my daily rate either - but only because they don't read these pages at the Mod :lol:
- as it would make painful reading; why spoil your day :)
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by SW1 »

You can hypotheses exactly how much it may generate or how many it may employee and most figures are woolly because it’s nearly impossible to predict with any certainty but one thing there is no getting away from and that is the below.

“ The Tempest programme is also being seen as providing critical support for an aerospace industry devastated by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tempest would encourage innovation that otherwise might not happen given there was not likely to be a new commercial aircraft platform for several years, said Rob Loveday, growth strategy director at GE Aviation Systems UK, which earlier this year joined the Tempest consortium. “The timing of Tempest was important before Covid, but it is very important now,” he said. ”

There isn’t a country of comparable size to the uk that does not see the strategic sovereign need to be able to final assemble, integrate and test major civil and or military aircraft.

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by Defiance »

If you want the UK to maintain a sovereign capability then invest in Tempest. If not then accept a position as a sub-contractor to a US prime with the full knowledge that we have witnessed our CF-105 moment.

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

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SW1 wrote:There isn’t a country of comparable size to the uk that does not see the strategic sovereign need to be able to final assemble, integrate and test major civil and or military aircraft.
Armored vehicles and warships too.

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by BlueD954 »

If not posted before, The War Zone article on Tempest indicating the possible capabilities but challenges.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/3 ... t-airpower

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

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Aviation Week
Tempest Technology Seeking Path To Approval
Tony Osborne October 19, 2020

Advanced multifunction arrays that can be distributed around the fuselage of future combat aircraft are envisioned for the UK’s Tempest Future Combat Air System.

Development of Leonardo’s Multifunction Radio Frequency System (MFRFS) would likely complement—or could even replace—the traditional fire control radar in the nose of the fighter. Multiple high-power arrays are capable of performing passive tasks, such as electronic support measures, and active tasks, such as electronic attack as well as detection and imaging. The system would lean on the company’s experience in developing active, electronically scanned arrays for the Eurofighter and Saab Gripen and distributed search radars, such as its Osprey sensor.

The radar and electronic warfare functions would be integrated into one system capable of collecting and making use of data from other platforms instead of being siloed into separate systems.

Details of the MFRFS sensor, subsystems of which Leonardo is testing at its Edinburgh, Scotland, facility, emerged as the main industry members of the Team Tempest consortium—BAE Systems, Leonardo, MBDA and Rolls-Royce—lifted the lid on some of the technology maturation activities funded by the UK Defense Ministry’s £2 billion ($2.6 billion) Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative (FCAS TI).

These maturation activities will help support the business case for an acquisition program to be submitted in December.

But that is not the only hurdle. The initiative’s supporters will also need to fight for its place in the government’s upcoming Integrated Review of the nation’s future foreign policy and defense posture.

The review, due to be published in November, is expected to call on the Defense Ministry to lean more heavily on the UK’s industrial capacity, both to ensure supply security and to invest in new technology. Such initiatives would also support the British government’s so-called leveling up agenda to create more jobs in regions such as Northern England (AW&ST Sept. 28-Oct. 11, p. 51).

The Team Tempest consortium hopes the initiative can tick all those boxes, as it aims to retain the skills and capabilities to develop future combat aircraft and a range of additive capabilities to support them, including advanced weapons, sensors and unmanned systems.

Findings from an independent review of the program by auditor PwC suggest Tempest could inject £25 billion into the UK economy during the first 30 years and secure 20,000 jobs in 2026-50.

Those figures apply to the period of program development, production, entry into service and early support but do not include export opportunities, research and development investment or the value of the program beyond 2050.

Work on combat aircraft has provided a boost to UK prosperity. The UK’s 15% share in the Lockheed Martin F-35 program is expected to net £35 billion over the life of the program, while its share in Typhoon has brought in another £28.2 billion.

“The combat air sector has contributed on average 80% of defense exports, so it has been a very successful sector. . . . We intend to keep it that way,” says Michael Christie, director of the future combat air systems acquisition program for BAE Systems.

FCAS TI work has already generated nearly 2,000 jobs, which will increase to 2,500 during the next 12 months and now involves about 600 companies nationwide.

Development of the MFRFS could enable a different approach to the Tempest platform’s design. It would also appear to be scalable to the capability or budget of the customer. Leonardo says the system will produce gigabytes of data, requiring significant processing power and potentially artificial intelligence to help the pilot make the best use of that data. Flight trials of the sensor system are planned for 2023 using a Boeing 757 testbed platform to be provided by 2Excel Aviation.

Leonardo has already identified challenges with cooling associated with the onboard systems and sensors and is working with Rolls-Royce on a thermal management system that will take heat generated from them and pass it through to the engine, using it as a heat sink, recycling the waste thermal energy and removing the need for overboard venting, which could increase the platform’s infrared signature.

Additionally, Rolls-Royce is exploring the use of additive manufacturing to enhance the combustion system of a future fighter engine, allowing it to operate at a higher temperature and increasing the powerplant’s efficiency.

“This gives them choice to design into the combat air system,” says Phillip Townley, director of future programs at Rolls-Royce. “You can go for greater range, greater time on station, or you can have a smaller design of your vehicle.”

BAE Systems, having advanced the development of an augmented reality cockpit, is now exploring a virtual assistant or co-pilot that will be able to take over elements of the pilot’s responsibilities. How the assistant will be presented is yet to be determined, either through an avatar or via a social media-like information feed. But it could perform a variety of functions, including piloting the aircraft or controlling the additive capabilities.

One area of study is to monitor the pilot with psycho-physiological systems to detect when a pilot is being overloaded with tasks, then lessening that workload through the virtual assistant. BAE has also pressed its Warton, England, Factory of the Future facility into operation to build a representative front fuselage section based on the current public Tempest design. The process will use additive manufacturing, robotics and its cobotics systems, in which employees work hand in hand with robots (AW&ST Aug. 17-30, p. 31).

Tempest’s business case—to be examined by the Defense Ministry’s financial committee—will likely be buoyed by support from Sweden, which has proposed legislation to fund support to the UK FCAS efforts, following agreements signed between the two countries in July 2019.

The legislation, part of a buildup of the Nordic country’s defense posture, still requires parliamentary approval, with a vote planned in December. The Swedish efforts would initially support the development of upgrades for the Gripen before a future system is considered. The business case will inform whether the program can move into its next phase, with the aim of delivering a full business case submission in 2025 and then leading to full-scale development. The UK hopes to put the platform into service in 2035, replacing the Eurofighter.

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Re: Future UK Combat Aircraft (Project Tempest)

Post by inch »

Sounds like it could be fairly competitive to what other countries are going to undoubtedly produce in future ie Chinese ,russian, Japan and Europe if it does go ahead , still won't compete in guessing with future USA offering but it doesn't have to tbh

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