UK Team Tempest

The UK FCAS programme known as Team Tempest is starting to take shape and program details update are getting more frequent. Consequently I am staring a new thread on this subject so that information and discussions can be centralised in one common thread.

Team Tempest

Team Tempest is part of the Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative programme announced in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review. It comprises Ministry of Defence personnel from the Royal Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Defence Equipment & Support and industry partners (BAE Systems, Leonardo, MBDA and Rolls-Royce) who are delivering elements of the programme.

Following the retirement of Tornado in 2019, the UK’s Combat Air requirements will be delivered through a combination of upgraded Typhoon and F-35. The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review committed to an extensive programme of upgrades to ensure Typhoon’s operational effectiveness and to enable the aircraft to operate with the Royal Air Force until at least 2040.


Team Tempest, regrouping under the same umbrella the UK MoD, BAE Systems, Rolls Royce, MBDA and Leonardo, unveiled the concept model of the future aircraft during a ceremony held at the BAE Systems stand at Farnborough Air Show, that saw Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson launching the national Combat Air Strategy. This will ensure the UK’s global leadership in combat air and provides a long-term vision for the sector as well as for international partners. The strategy establishes a programme that will lead the UK to deliver a future combat air capability by 2035. The Defence Secretary also confirmed the Future Combat Air Systems Technology Initiative that brings together the MoD and the industry to deliver over 2 billion £ of technology investment by 2025. Industry is contributing up to 50 percent on this investment and some of the 50 to 60 ‘national technology demonstrations’ that form part of the FCAS.

The head of agreement and contract between the UK MoD and industrial partners was signed just after the announcement, with a very tight timescale, and leverages lessons-learned of previous defence procurement projects with expected developments to innovate the acquisition procedures. Gavin Williamson stated clearly that he wants an acquisition business case by year end, and take ‘initial conclusions’ on international partners involvement by next summer, with a final investment in 2025. Partners have been said could be the nations around the world, including ones that haven’t worked with UK before. Williamson said the UK is looking to international collaboration, and that he is most willing to find new partners. Considering the participation of Leonardo, Italy seems to be a logic first candidate but as anticipated before the air show, Sweden was also been briefed on the topic. BAE Systems and the UK are also involved in fighter project around the world such as in South Korea and Turkey.

“Early decisions on how to acquire the capability will be confirmed by the end of 2020, before final investment decisions are made by 2025, with an aim to have operational capability by 2035”, Williamson said. After the announcement, Team Tempest officials clarified that no commitment has yet been made to build a flying demonstrator in the near-term, but developing technologies will be tested on some existing platforms.

The concept model unveiled at Farnborough by Team Tempest, which includes the MoD Rapid Capability Office, is a twin engine single-seater with central wing and V rear empennage. Among the features envisioned we find a modular weapons bay, a design that foresees a physical growth of the aircraft by adding pods of various types, distributed multi-spectral sensors, and reconfigurable communication systems. Moreover, while the mock-up is clearly a piloted aircraft, the Tempest looks at scalable autonomy, that is an unmanned version might be developed, this idea being already in the roots of the project. Affordability is another key factor, automated support options as well as advanced digital processes and tools being key in keeping the operational cost as limited as possible.

Industry partners (BAE Systems, Leonardo, MBDA and Rolls-Royce) are delivering elements of the programme.

BAE Systems, the Team Tempest integrator

Beside the airframe, BAE Systems is looking into numerous specificities, one being for example the modular weapon bay, which can be fitted to host weapons but can be replaced with a bay containing electronic warfare of reconnaissance equipment, or even by a modular fuel tank to increase the aircraft endurance for ferry flights.

The company is also considering a software-driven cockpit to be all in the pilot’s helmet, in order to reduce obsolescence. The new helmet, which leverages solutions already in service, will have a colour display with 3D capacity as well as audio cues. Compared to today hard wired displays, in 2025 the company foresees a touch-screen large scale system. At Farnborough it was possible to have the feeling of what a full virtual cockpit means: using the buttons available on the two joysticks it was possible to toggle between different views.

One of them showed a 3-D image of an enemy aircraft in flight at distance, taken by the on-board sensors, and using a finger it was possible to rotate it while two hands allowed enlarging the picture.

Turning the left hand and looking at the palm activated a menu that allowed choosing the centre view between air targets, ground targets, or the view of the aircraft itself, while turning the right one looking at the palm showed another menu, pinching the light bar on the left allowing to pull another menu page dedicated to mission highlights.



On the left wrist a watch shows the time, however it also has other functions, such as showing the pilot’s vital functions for health diagnostics.

Team Tempest, from Rolls Royce came thrust

According to Rolls Royce the Tempest will be equipped with what is defined as a “future power system” that will represent a step change not only in terms of thrust, as it will have a higher power density compared to today engines, but also in terms of electrical power generation. Another key feature will be the thermal signature management. The power density will be increased thanks to evolutive materiel, such as titanium reinforced with silicon carbide, while additive manufacturing will allow to introduce cooling structures lowering the weight. According to Rolls Royce current technology allows to increase by 15-20% the power density; this however does not means that the final engine, which thrust has not yet been decided, will feature such an increase, tradeoffs between power density and other characteristics such as i.e. thermal management being analysed and will depend on requirements. Thermal management will be managed thanks to very large ducts that are used to cool both the turbine as well as the exhausted air; starting the programme as a combined team will allow optimising airflow management in order to exploit it at its best to cool not only engine components and exhaust but also aircraft elements such as, i.e., the weapons bay.



Variable cycle solutions are being considered, the final choice depending very much on the mission. As for thrust vectoring, this is also part of the study, but its main use would be in air-to-air close range engagements, which do not seem to be a high probable scenario for the Tempest. The engines will not feature any external gearbox, as they will be fitted with two embedded starter generators, maxing the system very streamlined and easy to install in what was defines as an “embedded engine”. Both engines are located close to the aircraft centreline, thus the rotary machine cannot be seen from the air intakes, which are located on the sides of the fuselage; this should help in reducing the front RCS. Being an integrated power system, electric power will be stored in high capacity on-board batteries, the Tempest will not need an auxiliary power unit for operating autonomously, a further weight-saving solution. As for inspection, considering the reliability of future power systems current daily visual inspections will be carried out by robotised systems that will enter in the engine, avoiding the need of inspection hatches.

MBDA, the Team Tempest weapon systems provider

“The strong partnership (through the Portfolio Management Agreement) between MBDA and the UK MoD has already changed the paradigm for complex weapons development, delivered world leading capabilities to the UK Armed Forces and provided savings in terms of both time and money. The Team Tempest partnership has the potential to do the same for Combat Air”, said Chris Allam, managing director of MBDA UK, during the unveiling ceremony. “The starting points for MBDA are the innovative Meteor air-to-air and Spear 3 air-to-ground munitions”, said Paul Mead, MBDA group business development director to EDR Magazine.



The latter evolution roadmap sees the involvement of the baseline Spear 3 munition, followed by a future electronic variant concept being worked out together with Leonardo, to bring EW in the Spear airframe. This is based on the Brite Cloud and its technologies. The new variant requirements definition is in the final discussion with Royal Air Force, explained Mead, and a contract could be awarded within 2018. Last week, during the press briefing at the Royal International Air Tattoo 2018, the RAF announced the integration of Spear 3 on the Typhoon. “The network enabled air-to-ground weapon system installation and deployment from the F-35 represent the starting point for the Tempest combat concept model”. In a similar way, Meteor, the fifth-generation air-to-air weapon to enter in service onto the Typhoon from this year, will see at least a capability enhancement program to project it into the future, considering the indicated Tempest platform operational capability by 2035.

“Using these two advanced weapon systems as a starting point represents a low-risk approach to the demonstration phase”, highlighted Mead. For the longer-term, the Tempest platform is expected to be equipped with future strike capability and anti-ship cruise weapon systems which are currently under contract in the concept phase. “We are also looking to novel concepts: the current DragonFire high-power laser demonstrator programme being carried out together with Leonardo and QinetiQ is expected to test and define the technologies which will be applied in the first system iteration for naval application. We expect to develop land and air variants which could find application in the mid-long term, including the new combat aircraft system”, Mead unveiled. The RAF and the Team Tempest are also looking to “low-cost unmanned and swarm operating capabilities, which the Spear 3 network enabled munition with the data link has in term of time-to-target”. “These activities will steam from the RAF Rapid Capabilities Office’s (RCO) LANCA low-cost remote unmanned demonstration program.

The latter has been launched at the beginning of this week with the RfI release, as part of the Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative (FCAS TI). MBDA is looking into its weapon system components to satisfy this programme requirement. “With the Meteor and its datalink and long-range, together with the Spear network enable capabilities and the variants, MBDA has the base already in place to evolve into low-cost unmanned capabilities as well as longer-range strike capabilities; moreover, MBDA’s future cruise missile initiative will provide the component for the long-range strike for the future system. “The complex weapon pipeline and Team Tempest is a perfect marriage”, summarises Mead.


Tempest electronics and sensors from Leonardo

As national champion for advanced defence electronics, and as part of the Team Tempest, Leonardo will lead the developments on new generation sensors, electronics and avionics. “Work we have conducted under R&D programmes such as FOAS and FCAS has significantly advanced our thinking with regards to the complex electronics required for future air scenarios, and we stand ready to support the future needs of the Royal Air Force” said Norman Bone, Chairman and managing director of Leonardo in the UK. The areas of Leonardo’s contribution will be mainly related to sensors, including advanced radio-frequency and active together with passive electro-optical sensors, in addition to integrated and next-generation counter-measures sided by networking communication equipment. The presentation provided during the press conference highlighted the incorporation of an integrated intelligence system of systems as well as a multi-spectral integrated sensor system, as main core aircraft equipment sided by the networking communication and interoperability tools. The press conference slides also put in evidence a series of self-protecting and attack capabilities, starting from ‘team survivability in a high threat environment’ to attack with directed energy weapons, electronic warfare and support to kinetic weapons in addition to advanced mission data and open architecture mission system. Also highlighted was the cyber resilience, protection in addition to attack capabilities, of the all the on-board systems.

Enter the Tempest

Justin Bronk RUSI Defence Systems, 16 July 2018

The new £2 billion Tempest programme aims to both keep the UK in the combat aircraft business and secure for it a place in the next major European fighter project. Initial mock-ups unveiled with the announcement give some clues about design priorities, but funding the project long term may be challenging

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson the development of a new combat aircraft intended to eventually replace the Typhoon by the late 2030s or early 2040s, to be developed with European partners. The design phase, designated Tempest after the very successful fighter of the late Second World War, is a central part of the government’s £2 billion Combat Air Strategy, which is intended to run until 2025. A physical mock up of the Tempest was unveiled for the announcement at the Farnborough Air Show, along with virtual concept art, with both showing a fairly large fighter with design features reminiscent of current stealth fighters such as the American F-22 and F-35, and the Chinese J-20A. The virtual and physical mock-ups followed a common theme, although there are various minor differences between the shapes. This strongly suggests that the airframe shapes shown off are merely early concepts rather than anything approaching technology demonstrators such as the BAE Systems or the , which preceded the Eurofighter Typhoon. However, the common features of the various concepts shown do give clues about current British thinking on what the next generation of combat aircraft might look like.

The various artworks and the demonstrator model all includes canted vertical stabilisers, which are a feature on all currently operational fighter aircraft, but not the US Air Force’s famous B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, or various flying wing/cranked kite shapes that have come to characterise unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) demonstrators produced around the world, including Taranis, nEUROn, Sharp Sword, SCAT and X-47B. Vertical stabilisers indicate a design preference for fighter-like agility since they aid horizontal stability during manoeuvres, especially in extreme flight regimes. However, they also limit the extent to which an aircraft’s radar signature can be reduced, especially against low-frequency ‘anti-stealth’ type radars. Because of this, and the fact that some argue the agility of modern missiles make dogfighting redundant in future air combat, most concept art from US defence companies in recent years have not included vertical stabilisers, presumably to aid stealth against advanced and future radar systems.

The Tempest concepts also all feature a longer, wider fuselage than the F-35, which would improve the internal fuel load and allow more space for weapons bays and other internal sensor and/or combat payloads that might include the capacitors and coolant required for laser weaponry. Twin engines with divertless supersonic intakes are also included, which would allow improved performance especially at high altitude compared to the F-35’s single engine design. These design features point to an preference of endurance and unrefuelled range over low costs and simplicity, as well as sufficient internal space and weight capacity to allow for the insertion of future modular payloads internally. They also suggest that there is no intention to make a new combat aircraft capable of operating on the new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers since the design is very clearly not compatible with short take-off, vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities. There is a, perhaps surprising, degree of similarity in design approach between these initial concepts for the UK’s new Tempest and the design choices made by the Chengdu aircraft company that builds China’s new stealthy J-20A. Both are large, twin-engined fighters with small canted vertical surfaces and strong design influences from the American F-22 Raptor, evident around the nose and cockpit, which are critical for signature reduction.

The Tempest will supposedly be flyable by a pilot in the cockpit or capable of operating as a drone – an arrangement known as ‘optionally manned’ in aviation circles. However, most of the design advantages gained by eliminating the need for an onboard crew are clearly lost in an optionally manned design. It still requires a cockpit, life support systems, physical controls and an instrumentation/information display system for the pilot, all of which add weight, complexity, reduce the space available for fuel, weapons and sensors, and the need for a canopy fairing limits how stealthy the airframe can be made. Perhaps more importantly, if pilots are to be trained for the Tempest, this will require expensive peacetime flying to train and maintain pilot proficiency. The fact that a UCAV can, in theory, stay on the ground, with operators trained simply with simulated aircraft except during actual operational missions, is a key potential cost-saving feature of unmanned alternatives to fast jets, but this would be largely lost with an optionally manned type. On the other hand, while the ability to fly high-risk missions unmanned, to reduce the risk to human pilots, is theoretically useful, the extra electronic complexity and programming risk needed to develop a combat aircraft capable of operating in complex and contested environments without a pilot on board is still required.

The Combat Air Strategy, as a £2 billion pool of funding earmarked to demonstrate that the UK is serious about developing a new aircraft and starting negotiations with potential European partner nations for a joint programme, is a promising start. It is also critical to help convince British aerospace industries that the combat air sector is still a viable place to invest in future capability and skills. However, even with strong support from Italy’s Leonardo as well as other potential partners, especially France, Sweden and Germany, it will take a lot more than £2 billion to develop an actual combat aircraft from the Tempest project in time to replace Typhoon in the starting in the late 2030s.

The Typhoon programme cost the UK around £17 billion in development and acquisition costs for 160 aircraft. Tempest promises to be an even more ambitious undertaking, despite the progress made in various critical technologies in both the defence and civilian sectors since the 1980s when Typhoon was conceived. Assuming no major uplift in defence spending, the RAF and MoD will have to find significant funding within the equipment programme for the Tempest project if it is to have any hope of producing a real combat aircraft. Unfortunately, that is likely to be very difficult without adjusting the number of F-35s that the UK will eventually buy from the US, given that the to 138 of the stealth fighters will not be delivered on current funding timelines until the late 2030s at the earliest. Based on current defence spending assumptions, it is unlikely that the MoD will be able to adequately fund the testing and procurement phases of the Tempest while buying significant numbers of F-35s and maintaining an increasingly aging core Typhoon force as the latter approaches its eventual out of service date of approximately 2040. Something will eventually have to give.

The difficulty for now is that the United States Air Force in particular has bet everything on the success of the F-35A and the combined efforts of Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon and overseas partners to drive the costs of that aircraft down to a level where it can buy enough to replace its huge legacy F-16 and F-15 fleets. An admission by the UK that it does not plan to buy all 138 jets would have a knock-on effect on unit costs for the whole F-35 programme at a sensitive time. Equally, US President Donald Trump is keenly protective of US exports and would take any UK reduction in F-35 orders as a serious slight at a sensitive time in the search for post-Brexit trade deals. Nonetheless, if the UK wishes to stay in the combat aircraft business as a major player, then it simply must start development of a new aircraft to keep its industrial base in the game. The announcement by the defence secretary may well do just that, but the government must now pull off a balancing act to explain the long term financial viability of Tempest to industry and potential partners while maintaining its commitment to purchase 138 F-35s to the United States.

UK Future Fighter Hinges on Cooperation

Jul 17, 2018 | ShowNews

One year after France and Germany announced plans to jointly develop a future European fighter, Britain has lifted the veil on its vision for a future combat aircraft.

The Tempest concept, a twin-engine, delta-winged, low-observable fighter – unveiled by ministers on the opening day of the Farnborough Airshow – is a major milestone in Britain’s approach to develop a fighter through international co-operation.

And with aggressive development timelines and a vision to introduce cutting-edge technologies, the UK appears to be hoping to snatch away interest from the project being proposed by its neighbors across the Channel.

The Combat Air Strategy calls for Britain to take a leading role in a multinational program, with a ‘build it and they will come’ approach.

Some £2 billion has been put aside for the development of technologies associated with the aircraft, and 50-60 technology demonstrations are planned over the coming years, some funded entirely by industry, others on a 50/50 basis with government.

“We are entering a dangerous new era of warfare,” said defense minister Gavin Williamson. “It [the strategy] shows our allies that we are open to working together to protect the skies in an increasingly threatening future.”

British industry has already been heavily involved in the concept development work through the Team Tempest industry consortium which was announced by the Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Steven Hillier. Partners include , engine manufacturer , missile manufacturer MBDA, and Leonardo, along with agencies including Defense Equipment & Support [the UK procurement agency] and the RAF’s Rapid Capability Office.

The UK is eager to preserve its combat air capabilities, not only because it sustains thousands of jobs but because it has also generated 80% of the UK’s defense export income over the last decade with sales to Saudi Arabia and Oman.

The UK wants to disrupt the trend of lengthy development programs, with Williamson saying he wants to see a business case for the project delivered by the end of this year, to be followed by initial decisions about how to acquire the capability to come by the end of 2020, before investments decisions emerge by 2025.

The future fighter could be flying alongside and by 2035, the minister suggested.

The Typhoon is due to exit service in around 2040, which means the new platform will likely end up operating alongside British F-35s.

Such a timeline would put the British-led program almost five years ahead of the Franco-German program announced last summer and given the go-ahead in April, it may also be ahead of the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance or Penetrating Counter Air programs, although progress could be being made in the black world.

The UK has actually been quietly developing technologies associated with a future combat aircraft since the end of 2015 with research into open architecture avionics and aircraft systems through programs such as Pyramid. BAE has been trialing adaptive payload bays and testing new advanced materials.

New technologies envisioned for the aircraft include a new generation engine to support the new aircraft’s extensive electrical power demands. A third stream will provide bleed air to support the aircraft’s thermal management. The power system will provide electrical power to support directed energy weapons.

It will also make use of new advanced weapons including hypersonic and swarming missiles.

The aircraft’s systems will be rapidly upgradable and cyber resilient.

Air chiefs from around the world were invited at the weekend to take a look at a second mock-up which was shown off at the Royal International Air Tattoo on July 13-15 and briefed on the proposals.

“This hinges on international cooperation, we want new partners,” Williamson said.

“Together we want to design and build ultra-advanced equipment far faster, keeping ahead of technological change… and put it at the disposal of our friends,” he said.

Delegations from Sweden and Japan were in the room as the veil on the aircraft was lifted.


Responds

Airbus reacted to the news with a statement that read: “Airbus notes the UK’s announcement regarding its plans for the development of a new fighter aircraft and is encouraged to see the government’s financial commitment to the project which supports the goal of sovereign European defense capability.

“A Future Combat Air System is of utmost importance to Europe’s armed forces and therefore we look forward to continuing collaborative discussions in this area with all relevant European players.”

Opinion: Why The Time May Be Ripe For The UK Tempest

Jul 25, 2018 | Aviation Week & Space Technology

At this year’s Farnborough Airshow, the UK unveiled the Tempest, a twin-engine combat aircraft concept. This is the second new European fighter concept, after the Franco-German Future Combat Aircraft System that was announced in April.

The countries involved in these projects see two important reasons to proceed with a new fighter. First, the Trump administration has created uncertainty about U.S. reliability as a NATO ally as Vladimir Putin’s Russia continues to loom as a significant threat. This has boosted interest in purely European solutions, rather than relying on future U.S. aircraft or just a workshare in ’s .

Second, the combat market represents a very good business opportunity. Fears of obsolescence due to remotely piloted systems have come to nothing, and fighters are still remarkably flexible tools. Global tensions, delayed recapitalization programs and relatively high resource prices are propelling the market upward.



Looking at current programs and contracts being filled, the world fighter market is heading above $25 billion in 2018 dollars, a level not seen since the end of the Cold War (see graph). This value merely represents annual deliveries of aircraft; it excludes tens of billions of dollars in related costs, such as weapons, training and support. Clearly, Europe has a strong economic interest in spending its combat aircraft budgets on its own industries and in pursuing export opportunities.

While the political and economic drivers behind a new UK fighter are clearly there, just £2 billion ($2.7 billion) is earmarked for the broader UK Future Combat Air Strategy through 2025. Development of a next-generation fighter alone would cost 10 times that. And it is unlikely that the UK will fund a Tempest-class fighter on its own. The last all-UK fighter, the English Electric Lightning, ended production about 50 years ago.

Since then, new UK fighter concepts have led to harmonization with other European countries and the creation of pan-European designs: the and Panavia Tornado. In both cases, France and Sweden chose to develop their own designs.

Increasing aircraft development costs, U.S. market dominance and European defense budget constraints mean Europe can no longer afford three platforms. Even two might be difficult. In the past, the UK would have been the biggest customer and industrial participant in pan-European designs, but Brexit greatly complicates that. While a Franco-German alliance would be problematic due to France’s insistence on a dominant role, it does reflect Brexit’s grim political reality. CEO Tom Enders’ recent comments about being open to a /Airbus fighter unit merger depend on resolution of Brexit and other difficult political obstacles.

Yet the UK holds one very important card: its strategic and commercial relationship with Saudi Arabia, which provided the only significant export orders for the Lightning and Typhoon and was the sole export customer for the Tornado. The Saudi Al Yamamah Tornado procurement program represented tens of billions of dollars in funding and made a very big economic difference for all three industrial partners.

Would Saudi Arabia consider covering some of the nonrecurring costs of a new UK-led European fighter? UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson stated at the Tempest rollout: “We see this as an opportunity to collaborate with new nations that have not usually been involved in such collaborations before. The initial indications are exceptionally positive.”

The UK likely sees exactly what Europe sees: For political reasons, a second source for combat aircraft is highly desirable. Only the U.S. has next-generation fighter programs currently underway. If Saudi Arabia wants a second-source fighter in 2040, it might have no other choice than to support the development of the Tempest or a pan-European fighter leveraging Tempest design work. That makes a UK-led program more viable, despite Brexit, funding questions and other headwinds.

Rolls Unveils Adaptive Propulsion Vision for British Fighter

GUY NORRIS JULY 30 2018



FOR ROLLS-ROYCE, THE TEMPEST PROJECT almost certainly represents one of the first—and possibly only—opportunities in the foreseeable future to implement the full suite of future combat engine technologies currently under development by the company.

Like the latest new combat engines under initial development by General Electric and Pratt & Whitney, as well as those under study by MTU Aero Engines and others, the outline propulsion system is based on a three-stream adaptive, or variable-cycle, architecture. This provides enhanced combat capability while simultaneously enabling the engine to be switched to lower fuel burn modes to extend range and combat radius.

The third stream in the concept is indicated as a controllable bleed system, with offtakes located aft of the low-pressure (LP) compressor feeding large bypass ducts. The LP section is made up of a wide chord, possibly blisked, a fan stage, two LP compressor stages and two LP turbine stages. The fan is also distortion-tolerant to ensure undisturbed flow downstream of a low-observable serpentine inlet. The high-pressure (HP) core, which in the initial image released by BAE Systems includes only five HP compressor stages and a single HP turbine stage, is thought to be a glimpse of the lightweight high-temperature core under development in Rolls’ secretive Advancel technology program, the military-related elements of which are based out of the company’s Bristol, England, facility,

The engine will feature advanced power and thermal management technologies, a key element for any sixth-generation combat engine, particularly ^ one dealing with the divergent demands of stealth and high-temperature engine operations. It will also incorporate more electric systems, including a core-driven generator already tested on current military engines, including the Adour.

Build It and Will They Come?

UK PUMPING £2 BILLION INTO TECH DEMOS FOR FUTURE COMBAT AIRCRAFT. 2035 SERVICE ENTRY EYED, FIVE YEARS BEFORE FRANCO-GERMAN FIGHTER

TONY OSBORNE JULY 30 2018



Britain has revealed its vision for a future combat aircraft—as well as its proposed path for retaining the skills necessary to develop an advanced fighter after departure from the EU.

British Defense Minister Gavin Williamson said the rollout of the Tempest mockup—a twin-engine, delta-wing, low-observable sixth-generation fighter concept—on the first day of the Farnborough Airshow was representative of an “ironclad commitment to deliver.”

The UK’s Combat Air Strategy, published on the same day, calls for an international partnership and UK leadership in any future program for a Future Combat Air System (FCAS).

“We are entering a dangerous new era of warfare,” says Williamson. “Our main focus has to be the future. Alongside our lofty aspirations, this is an aspiration to keep control of the air, both at home and abroad, and support the UK’s wider prosperity agenda.”

Some £2 billion ($2.6 billion) has been set aside from the 2015 Strategic Defense and Security Review for development of technologies associated with a future platform, and 50-60 technology demonstrations are planned over the coming years. Some will be funded entirely by industry, others on a 50/50 basis with government.

The funding is a tiny fraction of what would be needed to develop the aircraft. The U.S. F-22 engineering, manufacturing and development effort had a $32 billion price tag.

An aggressive time line also has been fixed. Williamson says he wants to see a business case for the project delivered by year-end. This would be followed by initial decisions about how to acquire the capability, to come by the end of 2020, while investment decisions could emerge by 2025, and an aircraft could be flying alongside Lockheed Martin F-35s and Eurofighter Typhoons by 2035. The UK Defense Ministry is establishing a dedicated team to deliver the combat air acquisition program.

To some across the Channel, it all seems like posturing. European aerospace executives have suggested the Tempest is merely a positioning exercise, an attempt by the UK to get better terms for joining the Franco-German program announced by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel last summer. Earlier in July, Airbus Defense and Space CEO Dirk Hoke said having two European fighter programs would not be sustainable (AW&ST July 16-29, p. 18). Meanwhile, Eurofighter CEO Volker Paltzo said at Farnborough he strongly believed Europe will ultimately “converge” on one fighter solution.

The event prompted Airbus CEO Tom Enders to call for the creation of a single European combat aircraft company, similar to missile manufacturer MBDA. “We really want the next generation to be competitive with the Americans, and we need to consolidate that into one. That is the imperative for the industry,” Enders told The Sunday Times.

But Royal Air Force (RAF) officials say they are unconvinced by the initiatives from across the Channel. They say the Franco-German aircraft would be unlikely to meet the UK’s exacting requirements or its demanding time lines. France and Germany want their aircraft in service by 2040, while the UK wants it five years earlier.

That schedule could make the British option an attractive proposition for export and cooperation. It potentially puts the UK alongside other sixth-generation fighter options such as the U.S. Next Generation Air Dominance and Penetrating Counter-Air. U.S. Air Force officials were due to meet with their RAF counterparts to discuss the FCAS work during the air show.

But the UK knows it cannot pursue such a project on its own. The Combat Air Strategy document makes that abundantly clear, with more than 80 references to the need for partners or partnerships to develop the platform. “Effective international partnering in Combat Air is fundamental to the delivery of our national goals and management of cost,” the document states.

“The traditional European approach “has been complicated by the UK’s choice to leave the European Union,” says Douglas Barrie, a senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

While the UK has a strong heritage of European cooperation, it also has worked with countries such as India on production of the Jaguar and the Hawk jet trainer. In Saudi Arabia, BAE Systems is supporting efforts to develop that nation’s manufacturing base, with the final assembly of Hawks destined for the Royal Saudi Air Force. BAE is working in Turkey on the TF-X, and has answered requests for information from Tokyo for a fighter development program, Japanese media reports suggest. Work also is continuing with France on technologies that could go on to support both European FCAS projects.

“We see this as an opportunity to collaborate with new nations that have not usually been involved in such collaborations before,” says Williamson, adding that the offers made by the UK were “different and alternative” to those traditionally proposed by the U.S.

Air chiefs from around the world, in the UK for the RAF’s centenary celebrations, were invited to see a second mockup demonstrated at the Royal International Air Tattoo on July 1315 and were briefed on the proposals. Notably, delegations from Sweden and Japan were in the room as the veil on the aircraft was lifted.

“This hinges on international cooperation; we want new partners,” said Williamson. “Together we want to design and build ultra-advanced equipment far faster, keeping ahead of technological change ... and put it at the disposal of our friends,” he said.

Working with France and Germany is unlikely to enable Britain to build the leadership it believes necessary to retain its industrial capacity. Work on projects such as Typhoon supports thousands of jobs and has generated 80% of the UK’s defense export income over the last decade, largely from Typhoon sales to Saudi Arabia and Oman.

“We could choose to let this essential industry die,” the strategy document states; instead, it “creates the conditions for it to thrive and grow.”

With £2 billion to spend over the next decade, the UK feels it has a significant lead over the Franco-German program. Establishment of the Team Tempest consortium—comprising the UK Defense Ministry, the RAF’s Rapid Capability Office and industry partners including BAE, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo UK and MBDA—was announced only in April. But UK industry has been working on technologies associated with a future fighter for more than two years, through the Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative (FCAS TI).

BAE has been experimenting with adaptable payload bays, advanced materials and new approaches to cockpit development, including use of augmented reality. BAE also has been investing in making systems cyber-resilient, by making software dynamically reconfigurable, while fractionated architectures would make the aircraft more difficult to hack because the targeted function cannot be located in the aircraft’s system.

The UK Defense Ministry is supporting research on an open-architecture system code-named Pyramid that is designed to embrace avionics, sensors, connectivity and command-and-control systems. Investments are being made in development of low-cost unmanned combat air vehicles through programs such as Lanca. The UK also is conducting research into directedenergy weapons through work with industry on Dragonfire.

Technologies envisioned for the aircraft include a new-generation engine to support the new aircraft’s extensive electrical power demands, such as for directed-energy weapons. Other advanced weaponry could include hypersonic and swarming missiles. Detachable bays will enable the carriage of additional fuel and weapons or even attritionable UAVs acting as loyal wingmen and external sensor nodes. Other options include making the aircraft manned, unmanned or optionally manned.

A key focus for the work will be to reduce the time associated with developing and bringing new combat aircraft into service. The strategy calls for the exploitation of new technologies and techniques such as synthetic design and rapid prototyping, while new production techniques also will be needed to keep costs down. The strategy commits to supporting further development of the Typhoon, the aircraft benefiting from the technologies being developed through the FCAS TI.

Questions remain, however, as to whether Britain can afford to pursue development of a future fighter while also maintaining its commitment to purchase 138 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters through the life of the program. RAF officials say there will be no change in that commitment. But even with foreign partners on the program, the UK will have to find “significant funding within the equipment program for the Tempest project if it is to have any hope of producing a real combat aircraft,” says Justin Bronk, research fellow for airpower at the Royal United Services Institute.

UK Tempest Next-Gen Fighter Program Draws Notice Of Potential Partners

Apr 10, 2019 | Aviation Week & Space Technology

As potential foreign partners take a serious interest in British proposals to develop a new-generation combat aircraft, the UK government and industry are quietly working on the technologies that will pave the way for it.

Few details of the Tempest’s progress have emerged in the nine months since British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson unveiled the UK vision for a new combat aircraft to be ready in the late 2030s.

To get there, the UK is taking a multipronged approach. While the Combat Air Strategy outlined that Britain would stay in the combat aircraft development game, the Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative (FCAS TI), an eight-year, £2 billion ($2.6 billion) program of research jointly funded by government and industry, is examining the technologies that could be needed not only for the future combat aircraft but also to support future upgrades for the and the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

UK efforts to develop UCAV technologies will be flowed into the Tempest and associated systems

Trials of hardware to support the development of an open-systems architecture will be underway shortly

The public face of FCAS TI is Team Tempest, the joint government and industry consortium made up of the ’s Rapid Capabilities Office, , Leonardo, MBDA and .

All these elements feed into an acquisition program within the Defense Ministry that will ultimately lead to a platform to replace the Typhoon. An initial business case for that platform will be delivered in December 2020, a full business case in 2025 and initial operational capability in 2035.

“Everything we do is focused on ensuring the UK is ready as a globally competitive combat air enterprise,” Group Capt. Jez Holmes, the Team Tempest program director, tells Aviation Week.


What results from the UK’s FCAS TI and Tempest work may look very different from the concepts shown so far, but it will make extensive use of locally developed technologies for future unmanned systems. Credit: BAE Systems Concept

“What we’re trying to do is produce something that delivers credibility in capability terms and also delivers prosperity for the nation by bringing in partnerships,” he says.

Team Tempest’s sphere, in addition to conceiving and developing technologies for the future aircraft, encompasses the educational needs of the program so that skills can be maintained throughout the program’s life.

“Part of the FCAS TI initiative and the industry contribution is about sustaining and building those teams that perhaps have not had a huge amount of demand over the past 10-15 years,” says Clive Marrison, industry requirements director at Team Tempest.

Britain’s last Defense Industrial Strategy, published in 2005, stated that the introduction of the and the JSF meant the UK did not need to envisage building a new fighter for more than 30 years because they were both likely to have long operational lives. Upgrade programs for the Typhoon and development of the Taranis unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator have helped maintain those skills, but the Combat Air Strategy said that without a “clear indication of future requirements,” key engineering skills were placed at “greater risk.”

“Would we have lost those skills?” asks Marrison. “It is difficult to say, but without the investment both from industry and government in research and development over the last 10 years and now into FCAS TI and Tempest, we would not have been in such a good position to sustain and grow them again.”

In March, Team Tempest held an industry day for potential suppliers to understand the Combat Air Strategy and how they can feed into the program through government and the Team Tempest consortium. It attracted some 300 delegates from industry and government.

“It is not just about supporting the big four [BAE, Leonardo, MBDA and Rolls-Royce]; it is about supporting as much of the UK industrial and supply base as possible and bringing together as many of the clever minds, clever ideas and clever technologies as we can,” says Marrison.

The team is hoping that the work on the Tempest can ignite interest in aerospace technology in the same way the Concorde did during the 1960s. “Some of the people who will be involved on Tempest, potentially in service until 2080, have not been born yet,” says Holmes.

“Part of our intent here is to engage on a STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] basis across the nation and bring something that gives them an iconic focus,” he adds.

There is no shortage of international interest as well. In late 2018, Sweden’s confirmed it was in a “deepening dialog” with the UK over joining the Tempest program. At the end of last year, the company carried out a 6 billion krona ($650 million) rights issue that CEO Hakan Buskhe said could provide funding for future work, including with the UK. The Italian element of Leonardo said it was actively urging the Italian government to join the British FCAS work. Several influential think tanks in Rome have also pressed Italy’s government to join one of the two European projects, primarily urging it to side with the UK option, arguing that Italy would be sidelined if it joined the Franco-German efforts.

Beyond Europe, the Tempest is one of several options being studied for Japan’s F-3 future fighter requirement to replace the indigenous Mitsubishi F-2, and the British government reportedly has also made offers to India, with which it has previously partnered on the Hawk and Sepecat Jaguar.

FCAS TI is currently focused on 60-70 technology projects, some lasting 1-2 years, others planned to last the full length of the program.

Some of the initial work underway on concepts and requirements is feeding what Holmes calls an “initial gauge,” supporting the opening stages of the acquisition process.

“It will start to deliver them with credible evidence about not only what the need but [also] about what we think we are able to do in an affordable way, with a focus on future adaptability and growth potential, so that we ensure we set ourselves up on a path for success,” says Holmes.

Part of that work is on industry sustainability; others have a more international flavor, such as several projects with France looking at communications and interoperability enabling future platforms to work together in a coalition.

Progress also is being made on development of a comprehensive open mission-system architecture designed to embrace avionics, sensors, connectivity and command-and-control systems. Definition of the architecture and component specifications are close to completion, and components are being built for testing. The architecture will not only underpin the potential for spiral development but also will allow partners or export customers to integrate their own mission-system fits quickly, as it has systematic reuse of software at its core.

With data becoming the currency of the battlefield, and future combat aircraft gathering up information from the electromagnetic spectrum and sensors, any future architecture likely will have to cope with terabytes of information, Holmes suggests.

The challenge will be turning that data into “decision-quality information and presenting it in a useful way,” says Holmes. The ability to do this will depend on how quickly the aircraft’s systems can be upgraded. “What we’re focusing on in some of our work is how we make that much quicker, much easier and much more affordable,” he says. Such an approach could blur the lines between generations of fighters, Holmes says.

While the Typhoon is considered a fourth-generation combat aircraft and the F-35 as fifth-generation, the Tempest is widely considered to be sixth-generation. However, the aircraft might not be considered as such when it enters service in the late 2030s.

“We have architected our capabilities in the past in such a way that you have to talk in generational terms, because they have a long life, and step changes in capability are more challenging to deliver,” says Holmes.

Nevertheless, Holmes points to the Panavia Tornado, which when it left service at the end of March was an almost entirely different platform from when it entered service. The Typhoon will be the same, he notes.

“What is needed for a future combat aircraft is a regular, constant drumbeat of flexibility and upgradability, allowing that capability growth to happen much more quickly . . . almost breaking down the generation nomenclature to much smaller bite-size chunks,” says Holmes.

The UK’s heavy investments in unmanned combat aircraft technologies will also be applied.

The and industry, led by BAE Systems, has poured hundreds of millions of pounds into a series of technology initiatives that ultimately led to development of the Taranis UCAV demonstrator and almost paved the way for a joint UCAV demonstrator with France, until the plans were shelved last year.