BAE Systems to lead Team Tempest to design and build new combat aircraft

Announced at the 2018 Farnborough International airshow, the project to design and build the “future combat air concept” has been dubbed Tempest will involve BAE Systems, handling advanced combat air systems and integration; Rolls-Royce, looking after advanced power and propulsion systems; Leonardo, by advanced sensors, electronics and avionics; and MBTA, handling weapons systems. The announcement stressed that Typhoon remains a priority and that it will be upgraded to meet evolving threats over the next few years. Tempest is slated to fly by 2035, and will operate alongside F-35B Lightning IIs.

Tempest will be a dual-use aircraft with stealth abilities, capable of being flown by a pilot or as a drone. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said that the government will invest up to £2 billion after 2025 to lay the groundwork for Tempest.

For decades, the RAF’s frontline fighter fleet has flown aircraft that were the result of international collaborations. The SEPECAT Jaguar was Anglo-French, the Panavia Tornado developed jointly by the UK, Italy and West Germany; the Typhoon (for many years known as Eurofighter) involved these three countries plus Spain; and the F-35 project involves the US, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, and Australia. The last fighter aircraft flown by the RAF and developed solely in the UK was the Harrier, which came into service in 1969.