Smith flew the F-22A with the First Fighter Wing’s 94th Fighter Squadron - the Hat in the Ring gang for three years. But though the F-22 was an aerodynamic beast, that wasn’t what the aircraft was all about. Instead, it was the Raptor’s sensing capability and sensor fusion capability that was a real game changer

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed F-22 Raptor - СШАUSA - 1990

A Qualified Weapons Instructor on the Tornado F.Mk 3, Smith went on to fly operational missions in the F-22 "with plenty of deployments to the Middle East and the Pacific theatres of operations”

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed F-22 Raptor - СШАUSA - 1990

Networking and exchanging sensor information between the F-35 and F-22 is mission critical, but ensuring that types such as the Tempest can accomplish this and more with new technology currently being developed will ensure mission dominance

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed F-22 Raptor - СШАUSA - 1990Lockheed F-35A Lightning II - СШАUSA - 2006

The Tempest fighter, now created by Jonathan Smith and the wider team, is set to make the F-22s and F-35s that he once flew look distinctly old-fashioned. His enthusiasm for what the new aircraft will ‘bring to the table’ is palpable

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed F-22 Raptor - СШАUSA - 1990

Smith told us: “There were times when you needed to use that aerodynamic grunt in terms of big wings and engines, but the F-22 was far more than that!”

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed F-22 Raptor - СШАUSA - 1990

Smith was the second RAF pilot to be given a coveted exchange posting on the F-22A. Usually, he went on to be the UK F-35 Lightning II Tactics and Development Staff Officer, to command the RAF’s F-35 Test and Evaluation Squadron, and to become the UK F-35B Requirements Manager, Air Capability

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed F-22 Raptor - СШАUSA - 1990

The F-22 user interface was designed to be clean and allow the pilot to assimilate significant information to generate the required situational awareness. “You can have all the sensors in the world, but if the pilot can’t turn it into situational awareness, it’s kind of redundant; you run the risk of drowning in information but starved of anything useful, starved of situational awareness,” Smith says

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed F-22 Raptor - СШАUSA - 1990

The F-35 (like the Typhoon) will continue to have a part to play for many years, but increasingly as an adjunct to the FCAS system of systems, including the Tempest and the US NGAD

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: BAE Systems UAS Concept 2 - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 2022Eurofighter Typhoon / EF-2000 - InternationalInternational - 1994Lockheed F-22 Raptor - СШАUSA - 1990Lockheed F-35A Lightning II - СШАUSA - 2006

Jonathan Smith, VP Capability and CTO, Future Combat Air (GCAP), for Leonardo UK’s Electronics Division, is one of the few men to have flown the F-22A Raptor and the F-35B Lightning II operationally. He is thus uniquely well-placed to understand what the UK’s next manned combat air platform needs to be

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed F-35B Lightning II - СШАUSA - 2008

Smith spent almost four years flying the F-35B and another three as a staff officer on the programme. His verdict? “The F-35 can do a job in the context it is sat in right now. But the ability of the F-35 to do that job in a future context is going to be significantly challenged’’

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed F-35B Lightning II - СШАUSA - 2008

It was never possible to retrofit ‘stealth’ to older generation fighters. For similar reasons, it will be equally challenging to add ‘sixth generation’ information dominance to today’s fighters. This doesn’t mean that aircraft like the F-35 is in the twilight of their careers, but aircraft like the Tempest and the new US NGAD will supplant them at the ‘pointy end of the spear’

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed F-35B Lightning II - СШАUSA - 2008

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed F-35B Lightning II - СШАUSA - 2008

The F-35’s TR-3 improvements include better displays, computer memory and processing power. They will lay the foundation for a more extensive upgrade, called Block 4, that will bring greater weapons capability as well as improved electronic warfare and target recognition capabilities

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed F-35B Lightning II - СШАUSA - 2008

The new Tempest is much more than a fighter, being optimised for information dominance in a way today’s fifth-generation aircraft are not

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: BAE Systems Tempest - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 2026

Smith is agnostic as to what Tempest looks like - “The platform outline is secondary to making sure that we have that integrated sensing, non-kinetic effecting and communication system on there,” he says. Many believe that this Tempest configuration - ‘Concept Class Five’ looks like the F-22 he once flew

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: BAE Systems Tempest - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 2026