The old and the new: a Eurofighter Typhoon sits next to a concept model of Tempest, a vision of the UK's future combat aircraft, at BAE Systems in Warton
The Tempest sixth-generation fighter concept is planned to replace the RAF's Eurofighter Typhoon fleet from the late 2030s.
Those who value aesthetics in aircraft design may be reassured by the reminder that this, now very familiar twin-finned, pelican-nosed configuration - may not be the final Tempest design
The RAF’s forthcoming Tempest combat aircraft, which should be in operational use by 2040, will include a state-of-the-art radar that may incorporate cognitive techniques and distributed arrays among other technologies

BAE Systems Tempest mock-up at Warton. Under concept development by Team Tempest, the eventual air vehicle remains officially unnamed. What chance that the RAF's next fighter is christened Tempest?

Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group has become the latest company to join the Team Tempest effort, which plans to introduce a sixth-generation fighter into UK service in less than 15 years

Tempest will be a 'system of systems' with a manned (or optionally manned) fighter aircraft at its heart - the final design, however, may differ substantially from the configuration featured in BAE Systems’ marketing effort
If realised, the Tempest will transform the RAF into a sixth-generation force, but a number of challenges doubtless lie ahead

PLANS FOR the UK to lead the development of a new, airworthy sixth-generation combat air demonstrator were revealed by UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace during the opening day of FIA on July 18, 2022.

This Tempest configuration appears futuristic and ‘stealthy’, and that’s probably why it was chosen to form the basis of full-scale models and press imagery. It looks as you’d expect a midcentury sixth-generation fighter to look - twin-finned, tailless, delta winged. However, the real thing could turn out very differently

The Tempest six-generation fighter programme, part of the UK’s overall FCAS effort, is following a new development model designed to maintain the programme’s ambitious pace

The new 'Tempest' was revealed as part of a new national Combat Air Strategy on Farnborough's opening day

The full-size concept model for the next-generation Tempest fighter unveiled at Farnborough International Airshow in July 2018.
Current thinking is that by 2040 the Typhoon fleet will be approaching its out-of-service date, with the prospect of its successor, the Tempest, being optionally manned.

Макет истребителя шестого поколения «Темпест»

Looking every inch the 'sixth-gen' fighter, the Tempest mock-up includes a planform reminiscent of the F-117A, with a sawtooth trailing edge, trapezoidal twin tails and F-35-style engine intakes.

Family fleet: The RAF's concept model for the next generation jet fighter "Tempest", F-35B, Typhoon and Tornado aircraft, all seen here in the F-35B hangar at RAF Marham

The Mosquito demonstrator (in the foreground), which will inform the UK's LANCA requirement, will be of a similar size to the future Tempest fighter (in the background)

Using the 'digital thread' has helped to speed up the design and test of concept models for Tempest.

This view of the Tempest configuration shows to advantage some of the LO characteristics that will feature on whatever configuration is eventually chosen

Tempest model in the wind tunnel

BAE Systems engineers have been using the digital environment to design, test and ‘fly’ Tempest concepts

BAE Systems’ fuselage demonstrator representing how a future fighter aircraft fuselage could be produced and developed
AT FIA 2022, BAE Systems was keen to demonstrate its recent moves in developing the latest manufacturing technologies by showcasing a representative military fast-jet fuselage that was designed and built in the firm's '4.0 Factory of the Future' at its Warton facility in Lancashire.

BAE’s fuselage demonstrator in the Factory of the Future at Warton

Ventures in which EAL might participate include the UK's Future Offensive Air System (1999)
Artist's impression of one possible configuration of a BAe low-observables combat aircraft (1999)

A BAE Systems computer-generated concept of the Team Tempest Future Combat Air System. The aircraft is shown launching 'swarming' mini-UAVs.
The core Tempest aircraft will be augmented by a host of adjuncts and effectors, including UAVs of various shapes and sizes, among them 'loyal wingmen' and attritable swarming drones

When the UK FCAS programme was launched in July 2018 the goal was to have Tempests flying alongside Typhoons and F-35s by 2035

Rolls-Royce is taking the lead on the engine for the UK’s Tempest programme for a fifth-generation platform

Leonardo’s ISANKE domain concept unlocks the potential of sixth-generation sensors by integrating them as a more crucial part of Tempest’s architecture

The image shows one vision of the future; a Tempest fighter and a production operative controlling production via a networked tablet.
Fixed jigs will be rare in BAE Systems’ 'factory of the future', but advanced robotics will be clearly in evidence

Another CG concept of the Future Combat Air System, this time showing a production line for Tempest fighters. BAE Systems aims to employ advanced manufacturing capabilities, including robotic and cobotic (collaborative robot) assembly.

An idea of how the future cockpit could look in the Tempest programme, with holographic displays and interactive modelling.

Virtual assistant: concept AI-enabled cockpit from BAE Systems. An AI assistant could help lower the cognitive load faced by pilots in the future

The future battlespace will see a network of systems interoperating, utilising machine learning, AI analytics and data processing to enable ever-faster decision making

A digital thread runs right through the Tempest programme, from concepting, through to design, manufacturing, sustainment and operation
Inside the 'Factory of the Future': the new facility at BAE Systems’ site in Warton, Lancashire. A digitally connected, intelligent factory for future military aircraft production

Digital twins enable manufacturers to study physical behaviours an engine would exhibit under very extreme conditions

An infographic of the Team Tempest Future Combat Air System concept.