UK Secretary of Defense Gavin Williamson opened the presentation of the project on the sidelines of the Farnborough Air Show with the words:
“Let's be clear: we are entering a dangerous new era. Therefore, our main focus should be on the future and how we respond to emerging threats. Today we invite you to look into tomorrow, and we will start with the layout that stands next to me. Tempest (Tempest) - a promising fighter of the future with an advanced power plant and energy, a virtual cockpit, united in a "swarm", with the latest weapons, including laser weapons. Manned or unmanned, it will be quickly upgradeable and resistant to cyber attacks."
Work on the British theme of the sixth generation fighter is being carried out by the Team Tempest team, which is included in the FCAS Technology Initiative (FCASTI) program. It is worth mentioning separately that the British started developing a sixth-generation fighter at once, having no experience working on fifth-generation aircraft. Team Tempest consists of Air Force specialists from the Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO), the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), and the DE&S (Defense Equipment and Support) Defense Procurement and Supply Organization. The hardware development partners are: BAE Systems, responsible for the airframe and overall integration of all systems; Leonardo, developing sensors and avionics; MBDA working on fighter armament; Rolls-Royce - engines and power plants. That is, the project cannot be called exclusively British.
Tempest so far only flies in animation
Interestingly, the Tempest concept emerged from the stillborn 2015 Strategic Defense and Security Report, which, for a five-year period, has proved impracticable due to the sudden change in threats to UK national security. The successor is the Modernizing Defense Program (MDP), which aims to ensure more efficient use of Britain's modest defense budget. The fact is that the British Ministry of Defense does not have enough funds to fully meet the needs for the purchase of new equipment. The defense budget deficit in the coming years, in the most pessimistic scenario, could amount to more than £ 20 billion. This was largely due to the notorious "Brexit", which distracted the attention of the Cabinet of Ministers from defense issues. The program for the development of a new fighter should be approved by the end of 2020, money for development is planned to be issued by 2025, and the project itself is supposed to be brought to operational readiness only by 2035. At the same time, the British plan to get by with the development of a largely revolutionary fighter "with little blood" - only 10 billion pounds. The first contract has already been signed - BAE Systems received money on July 3, 2018 for a 12-month development cycle for the fighter's concepts and technologies.
Layout on display at Farnborough in July 2018
The Tempest model is a classic tailless model with the so-called large-area lambda wing and two-fin vertical tail. The Farnborough full-scale model is believed to have been mounted on a Tornado chassis. Approximate dimensions: length - 18 m, wingspan - 13 m, height - 4 m. The highlight of the British aircraft of the future will be the Wearable Cockpit with elements of augmented and virtual reality, as well as a gesture control system. The last British, obviously, spied on the interface of cars BMW 7 series. Graphic information is displayed on a helmet-mounted augmented reality display unit, which is currently being played by the Striker II. In fact, the Tempest cab should be stripped of virtually all traditional indicators and displays. In each specific case of a combat mission, the set of virtual "dashboard" will be different.
Reconfigurable weapons bay concept and test facility
Flexible Payload Bay Trials at Wharton
The new aircraft should have the versatility that is fashionable nowadays - it can be quickly reconfigured and modernized for specific tactical tasks. A particular example of this approach is the Flexible Payload Bay, which BAE System has been working on for several years at the Wharton plant. Aviation technicians will be able to change the volume of the compartment, its configuration, the mechanism for opening the doors and even the doors themselves. It is believed that inexpensive and compact drones developed under the secret LANCA program may be hidden inside the plane.
Revolutionary virtual cockpit
As for the armament of the promising aircraft, Meteor air-to-air missiles and SPEAR 3 guided munitions were presented at Farnborough. Of course, the range of wearable weapons will be much larger - there will be hypersonic missiles, anti-ship munitions, as well as microwave and laser weapons. If necessary, Tempest can be quickly converted from a manned version to a fully unmanned aerial vehicle controlled by artificial intelligence. British Air Force Chief of Staff Stephen Hillner was skeptical about this:
“People have long realized that it is not so easy to use unmanned systems in a difficult situational environment. Besides, there are still problems of a moral and ethical nature”.
Three-circuit power plant developed by Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce spoke about the concept of a new engine for a fighter jet at the Farnborough Summer Air Show. It is a three-circuit variable cycle jet engine having a three-stage low-pressure compressor with wide chord fan, five-stage high-pressure compressor, one-stage high-pressure turbine and two-stage low-pressure turbine. The engine has an integrated starter-generator, which, due to its compactness, reduces the midsection of the aircraft, and also powers a whole range of systems from on-board sensors to combat lasers. All work on the new power plant, of course, is classified and carry the Advance 1 code. The most interesting thing is that Tempest will not replace the F-35, but only add to its capabilities. The Department of Defense is not going to refuse further purchases of 138 American aircraft, with which Britain will live for another forty years. About the prospects of the new sixth generation complex, Air Force Chief of Staff Hillier expressed himself most bravely when he said that England would eventually become almost a world leader in this area. For this, according to the chief of staff, there is everything - both engineering personnel and invaluable experience. But BAE Systems chief Charles Woodburn is not so categorical in his judgments: “Our opinion is that the creation of next generation aviation systems is a“team sport”, and using the football analogy, the strongest players are needed on the field, and it is in our interests to exactly". Apparently, the staff of engineers is not so extensive, and the competencies are not so wide. As a result, Boeing, SAAB, and even Lockheed Martin have already shown interest in the "common cause" of Tempest.
Competitors on the other side of the English Channel from Airbus do not particularly want to see an English car in the sky and are looking for new reasons to consolidate efforts on a pan-European project. For example, the head of the aircraft company Tom Enders at Farnborough said:
“The time has come to seriously think about consolidating and uniting efforts in one direction. There is no room for three different programs to create a new generation of fighter aircraft, there is not even room for two. If we truly want the next generation to be competitive with Americans, we all need to unite. This is an imperative for the industry."
Dassault boss Eric Trappier, on the other hand, praised the project:
"It's a good news. In the early 2000s, the UK saw no need to build its own fighter and instead ordered the F-35. I see the British are awake."
