By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
It’s one of the stars of this week’s Farnborough International Airshow – a next-generation combat plane being developed by the UK, Italy and Japan.
The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) partners have come out with a combat model of the plane that they say will be in service by 2035. The jet, which is generally referred to by its British name, Tempest, has a larger wingspan and better aerodynamics than earlier models.
It’s being developed by the UK’s BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo and Japan’s Mitsubishi. According to BAE, the plane will have “an intelligent weapons system, a software-driven interactive cockpit, integrated sensors and a powerful next generation radar capable of providing 10,000 more data than current systems, giving it a battle-winning advantage.”
The Royal Air Force says the goal is to have the pilot be able to “think and act two to three steps ahead of their adversary.”
Like other sixth-generation plane that are in the works – such as the US next-generation air dominance (NGAD) fighter – it will have lasers and be surrounded by what are known as loyal wingman drones. If all goes well, the GCAP plane would replace the Eurofighter Typhoon used by the UK and Italy, and Japan’s Mitsubishi F-2.
Still, there’s a very large “but.” In the UK, a Labor government led by Keir Starmer has just assumed power, and Sky News reported that the six-gen jet could be at risk in the next Strategic Defense Review (SDR).
The new government has been intentionally vague about the matter. Speaking at an air and space power conference in London this month, armed forces minister Luke Pollard said, “The GCAP program is a really important program for us. We need cutting-edge capabilities. We need to make sure that when we are procuring systems, high-end systems…that we do it in the most cost-effective way, and that is by working with our partners.”
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Much of the talk about the GCAP program sounds like that surrounding the US sixth-gen fighter. The US plane is likely to be equipped with lasers and hypersonic weapons, be able to launch and control small drones and operate with artificial intelligence-powered computing.
Back when he was the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Charles Brown – now the chairman of the joint chiefs – indicated that there might be two versions of the six-gen aircraft: one for Europe, the other for the Pacific. The Pacific variant might be larger, so it could hold more fuel for the region’s longer distances.
And, just as in the case with the GCAP program, the US is taking a hard look at costs.
The Air Force has begun a comprehensive re-evaluation of the NGAD program after costs escalated to roughly $250 million per unit – approximately three times that of the F-35 fighter. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has said the service is looking into options for a simpler and smaller engine for the plane.
Originally, the goal was to have 200 NGAD fighters delivered by the 2030s, a goal that now looks unattainable.
