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The United Kingdom has announced further progress on a crewed combat air demonstrator, the first of its kind in 40 years for the UK.
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The United Kingdom’s leading combat air industry partners have announced that manufacturing and assembly of the main aircraft structure is underway on the country’s first crewed combat air demonstrator for a generation.
BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, MBDA UK, and the UK Ministry of Defence are reportedly making significant progress developing a piloted supersonic aircraft to test a range of new technologies, including integration of stealth compatible features, with the aircraft set to fly within the next three years.
The UK government first announced the flying combat air demonstrator in July 2022, and now more than half of the aircraft’s weight, including the fuselage and wings, is in build. This is thanks to the expertise of the UK’s world-class defence industry, combined with the use of innovative digital techniques and transformative processes, including advanced manufacturing technologies, virtual simulators, and digital rigs.
The flying demonstrator is providing invaluable data and lessons to UK industry to support the introduction of a new combat aircraft from 2035 – known as Tempest in the UK.
“Showcasing the best of British engineering, we’re proud to be working on this groundbreaking initiative, which sees industry partnering with over 100 UK suppliers,” Andy Higginson, Rolls-Royce SVP manufacturing, assembly and test, said.
“The flying technology demonstrator is a catalyst for developing national skills and advanced technology as we combine engineering expertise with innovative methods to enhance and refresh industrial skills.
“Seeing the physical testing and validation activities in our test beds and the preparation of the engines in the Bristol Defence Assembly and Operation Facility reminds us how close the GCAP development and production work now is.
“Such steps – along with supporting apprentices, graduates and mid-career professionals – are so important as we get ready to deliver Tempest in half the time of previous programs, keeping the UK at the forefront of defence and aerospace.”
Experts from BAE Systems are using additive manufacturing processes and technologies, including 3D printing, to develop significant structural parts of the aircraft in less time and at reduced cost. The use of hot isostatic press (HIP) technology, which uses extreme heat and pressure to create a solid metal part in any required shape, reduces the time needed to manufacture parts and creates less material waste.
In Warton, Lancashire, test pilots from BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, and the Royal Air Force (RAF) have now flown more than 215 hours of the demonstrator aircraft in a bespoke simulator, providing crucial evidence to support the design of the aircraft and subsequent flight trials years before its first flight, enabling test pilots to become familiar with flying the aircraft.
“The demonstrator is helping us understand more about the advanced technology that is required to deliver a sixth-generation fighter jet," Air Commodore Martin Lowe, Future Combat Air Systems Programme Director for UK Ministry of Defence, said.
“The progress we have made together – MOD and industry – in such a short space of time has been remarkable. A large part of this is down to a new generation of engineering specialists who are using innovative manufacturing solutions to deliver this demonstrator aircraft.”
BAE Systems’ engineers are also using a range of digital simulators and rigs to test cockpit conditions such as heating, cooling and oxygen supply for a pilot without having to use a physical environmental rig.
MBDA is working with BAE Systems to trial digital weapon integration processes for the demonstrator. The aim of these digital techniques is to prove, through test and evaluation, that they will reduce the time and cost for weapons integration. This collaborative approach at this early stage of the program is already showing potential benefits.
Rolls-Royce is set to deliver two EJ200 engines for installation into the flying demonstrator aircraft following integration testing last year. The engines, donated by the UK Ministry of Defence, will be delivered to BAE Systems in the next 12 months as this collaborative program continues to make good progress.
This range of novel technologies will demonstrate and test key elements of the next generation combat air design as well as skills, tools, processes, and techniques needed to develop Tempest, which will be delivered through the Global Combat Air Programme, with the UK, Italy, and Japan.
