avia.wikisort.org - Aeroplane

The BAE Systems Tempest is a proposed sixth-generation jet fighter aircraft that is under development in the United Kingdom for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft is intended to enter service from 2035, gradually replacing the Eurofighter Typhoon. It is being developed as part of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme by a consortium known as "Team Tempest", which includes the Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo UK, and MBDA UK. £2 billion is planned to be spent by the British government on the initial phase of the project up to 2025.[1]

Tempest
BAE Systems conceptual illustration
Role	Sixth-generation jet fighter Type of aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	BAE Systems Rolls-Royce Leonardo UK MBDA UK
Introduction	Planned for 2035
Status	Under development

Both Italy and Sweden signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2020 committing to explore collaboration on the FCAS programme.[2] The UK and Japan have announced they are working together on the joint development of engine and radar demonstrators. Furthermore, talks are ongoing to combine efforts with Japan's own Mitsubishi F-X fighter project as a means to cut development costs for both countries, with a final decision on the level of partnership due towards the end of 2022.[3]

Development

Development of the Tempest began in 2015.[4]

The UK and Japan began discussing jointly developing a new stealth fighter jet in 2017.[5]

On 16 July 2018, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) published its Combat Air Strategy. The key elements of this are:[6][7]

• Continued development of the Typhoon.
• Implement the Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative which was established by the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.
• Study of Typhoon replacement programmes.
• "Build on or establish new [international] partnerships to deliver future requirements."
• Focus on affordability.

The document describes combat air as "An aircraft, manned or unmanned, whose prime function is to conduct air-to-air and/or air-to-surface combat operations in a hostile and/or contested environment, whilst having the ability to concurrently conduct surveillance, reconnaissance, electronic warfare and command and control tasks."[7] On the same day, the then Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson introduced the Tempest programme at the Farnborough Airshow as part of the Combat Air Strategy to maintain UK's combat aircraft development capabilities.[8]

The Tempest will be a sixth-generation jet fighter incorporating several new technologies including deep learning AI, ability to fly unmanned, swarming drones, directed-energy weapons,[9] virtual cockpit in helmet[10][11] and hypersonic weapons.[12] £2 billion was earmarked until 2025.[13][9] It was developed by a group called Team Tempest, consisting of the BAE Systems, project leader and systems integrator; Rolls-Royce, working on power and propulsion; Leonardo S.p.A., working on sensors, electronics and avionics; MBDA, working on weapons;[9][14][11] and the Royal Air Force (RAF) Rapid Capabilities Office.[8][10] The maiden flight is anticipated to occur by 2025 ahead of entry into service by 2035.[10][15] Tempest will replace the Eurofighter Typhoon in RAF service.[9] The RAF's Second World War Hawker Tempest fighter also followed a Typhoon.[16] Some technology developed for Tempest will be implemented in Typhoon before the deployment of Tempest.[13]

In 2018 it was reported that the MoD was in talks with officials from Sweden about a common fighter jet aircraft and Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera confirmed that discussions were ongoing about a partnership.[17][18][9]

On 8 February 2019, it was reported that the MoD and BAE Systems planned to approach the Indian MoD and Air Force regarding collaboration for the design and manufacture of the Tempest.[19] Further talks were planned at Aero India 2021.

In July 2019, Team Tempest revealed that they planned to use a Boeing 757 as a testbed for technology developed for Tempest.[20] The aircraft, named Excalibur, will be the only stealth fighter testbed outside the United States.[21]

On 19 July 2019, Sweden and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore ways of jointly developing sixth-generation air combat technologies.[22][23] Swedish public service TV SVT reported that Sweden is now a part of the Tempest project,[24] however Jane's Defence Weekly later clarified that Sweden was not formally part of the Tempest project, but is rather cooperating on the broader Combat Air Strategy. A decision on full commitment to Tempest by Sweden was expected by the third quarter of 2020.[25]

Italy announced its involvement in Team Tempest on 10 September 2019.[25][26] The Statement of Intent was signed between the UK participant bodies and Italian participant companies (Leonardo Italy, Elettronica, Avio Aero and MBDA Italy).[27]

At the virtual Farnborough Airshow in July 2020, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced seven new companies were joining the Team Tempest consortium: GEUK, GKN, Collins Aerospace, Martin Baker, QinetiQ, Bombardier in Belfast (now Spirit Aerosystems) and Thales UK, along with UK universities and SMEs. The companies will develop more than 60 technology prototypes and demonstration activities. By July 2020, trilateral industry discussions between UK, Sweden and Italy had begun;[28] also announced was an initial investment of £50m in the project by Saab and the opening of a Future Combat Air Systems centre in the UK.[28] Saab did not however explicitly commit to Tempest.[29]

Talks with Japan continued in 2020.[20]

The involvement of Italy and Sweden was confirmed by the signing of a trilateral MoU with the UK, called Future Combat Air System Cooperation (FCASC), on 21 December 2020, "defining general principles for co-operation on an equal basis between the three countries".[2]

On 29 July 2021, the project moved into the Concept and Assessment phase, with BAE Systems being awarded a £250 million contract to advance the design.[30] In August 2021 Italy announced its intention to invest €2 billion by 2035 starting with a €20 million contribution in 2021 followed by the same amount in 2022 and 2023.[31]

On 22 December 2021, it was announced that the UK and Japan would jointly develop an engine testbed, with the UK initially contributing £30m for design to be followed by £200m for production of the testbed.[32]

On 15 February 2022, the UK and Japan also agreed on the joint development of next-generation fighter radar demonstrator named JAGUAR (Japan And Great Britain Universal Advanced RF sensor), led by Leonardo UK and Mitsubishi Electric.[33][34]

On 18 July 2022, the UK announced that a demonstrator aircraft would be flown for the first time "within the next five years". According to the MOD press release, the demonstrator's development is already underway at the BAE Systems facility in Preston, England and it has already been flown in simulators.[35]

In the July 2022 Italian defence budget the development of the fighter was accelerated with Italy now budgeting a spend of €220 million in 2022 and €345 million in 2023, with a forecast total investment of €3.8 billion by 2036.[36]

Design

Tempest will be modular, both to be easily role-adapted to fit the particular mission as well as have easily upgradeable components during its lifetime.[37] It has delta-wings and a pair of outwards-pointing vertical stabilisers.[15] It will incorporate stealth technology, be able to fly unmanned, and use swarming technology to control drones. It will incorporate artificial intelligence deep learning and carry directed-energy weapons.[37][9][12] The aircraft will have a Cooperative Engagement Capability which is the ability to share data and messages with other aircraft and coordinate actions.[15][12] Tempest will feature virtual cockpit shown on a pilot's helmet-mounted display[37] using a Striker II unit,[11] and an adaptive cycle engine that utilises composite materials and improved manufacturing process to be lightweight and have better thermal management while still keeping costs low.[15][10]

Leonardo has proposed a radar warning receiver that is four times as accurate at 1/10th of the size of current units.[38]

The aircraft has a slightly raised rear fuselage section, to accommodate “S-shaped” ducting behind its twin-engine inlets, to reduce its frontal radar cross-section.[39] Its two engines are placed deep inside the fuselage to minimise radar and infrared signatures.[15]

The aircraft's two generators are able to provide 10 times more power than the Typhoon's.[4][40] One of the generators serves as an electrical starter, eliminating the need of a mechanical or compressed-air starting system for the engine.[41]

The pilot's helmet will monitor brain signals and other medical data, amassing a unique biometric and psychometric information database for each pilot, that will grow the more the pilot flies. The aircraft's AI will work in conjunction with the database to assist the pilot, for example taking over flight controls if the pilot blacks out due to g-force or increasing its own workload when the pilot is overwhelmed or under increased stress e.g. taking over terminal guidance after weapon deployment if the pilot's attention is focused on a more imminent threat to the aircraft. The AI is also intended to act as a gatekeeper that will parse the overwhelming quantity of sensor and intelligence data collected by the aircraft to identify key threats, while throttling the rate processed data is provided to the pilot to prevent the pilot being overloaded.[42][43]

See also

• HAL Combat Air Teaming System
• Future of the Royal Air Force
• Future Combat Air System
• BAE Systems Replica
• Flygsystem 2020
• Mikoyan PAK DP
• F/A-XX program
• Next Generation Air Dominance
• Mitsubishi F-X

References

External links

Tempest at the RAF

На других языках

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[de] BAE Tempest

Die BAE Tempest ist ein Konzept-Tarnkappenflugzeug, um einen Nachfolger für den Eurofighter Typhoon der Royal Air Force zu entwickeln. Das Flugzeug wird von einem Konsortium aus BAE Systems und dem Triebwerkshersteller Rolls-Royce Group entwickelt, da sich Großbritannien nicht am deutsch-französisch-spanischen Flugzeugprojekt Future Combat Air System beteiligt, das ebenfalls als Eurofighter-Nachfolger geplant ist.

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- [en] BAE Systems Tempest

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[fr] BAE Systems Tempest

Le Tempest est un projet d'avion de combat furtif de sixième génération proposé pour être conçu et fabriqué au Royaume-Uni pour la Royal Air Force (RAF), l'Aeronautica Militare italienne (AMI) et la Svenska flygvapnet, l'armée de l'air suédoise.

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[it] BAE Systems Tempest

Il BAE Systems Tempest è un caccia multiruolo stealth, di sesta generazione, in sviluppo per conto della Royal Air Force del Regno Unito e dell'Aeronautica Militare.[2][3] Il progetto prevede l'entrata in servizio per il 2035 ed è sviluppato da un consorzio di enti ed aziende conosciuto come "Team Tempest,"[4] tra i quali figurano il Ministero della difesa britannico, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo S.p.A. e MBDA.[5]

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[ru] BAE Systems Tempest

BAE Systems Tempest — проект истребителя шестого поколения[1], разрабатываемого в Великобритании консорциумом «Team Tempest» в составе Министерства обороны Великобритании, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo и MBDA. Ввод в эксплуатацию планируется с 2035 года для замены самолёта Eurofighter Typhoon.

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