The manufacturing and assembly of the main aircraft structure of the Tempest fighter jet demonstrator is underway, BAE Systems has announced. 

The aircraft, which is the UK’s first crewed combat air demonstrator for a generation, involves collaboration with partners including BAE, Rolls-Royce, MBDA UK and the UK Ministry of Defence.

The piloted supersonic aircraft will test a range of new technologies, including integration of stealth compatible features. The jet is set to fly within the next three years.

The flying demonstrator will provide valuable data and lessons to UK industry to support the introduction of a new combat aircraft from 2035, which is known as Tempest in the UK and will be delivered through the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), with the UK, Italy and Japan.

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.

Paul Wilde, head of Tempest, BAE Systems, commented: “The flying technology demonstrator is a vital initiative for developing national skills and advanced technology, ensuring the UK remains a world leader in the design, production, test and certification of combat aircraft. Partnering with around 100 UK suppliers, including our Team Tempest partners, we’re combining engineering expertise with innovative methods to enhance and refresh crucial industrial skills which is so important as we get ready to deliver the Tempest programme. The demonstrator is a ground-breaking initiative which will showcase the best of British engineering, supporting apprentices and graduates who learn from our best engineers, keeping the UK at the forefront of defence and aerospace.”

Experts from BAE Systems are using additive manufacturing processes and technologies 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.

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 programme 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 programme 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 GCAP with the UK, Italy and Japan.

www.baesystems.com