Sweden to join British
‘Tempest’ next-gen fighter push
15419
A visitor sits in the
model of the Tempest fighter jet during the Farnborough Airshow, southwest of
London, on July 16, 2018. The jet design lacks a traditional cockpit display,
instead relying on a virtual HUD projected through the pilot's helmet. (TOLGA
AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images)
LONDON –
Sweden is set to become the first international partner to join the British
“Tempest” sixth-generation fighter program.
An
announcement involving the governments and industries of the two nations is
expected to be made at the three-day Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT)
event, which begins July 19 at RAF Fairford, according to industry executives.
The British
government took the wraps off the Tempest program at the Farnborough Air Show
last year. The project is the main attraction in a new combat air strategy
stitched together largely to enable the British defense aerospace industry to
maintain its technological edge in developing jet fighters.
The
Conservative government pledged £2 billion, or $2.5 billion, to fund the early
stages of the program, which is being led on the industry side by BAE Systems,
Rolls-Royce, missile maker MBDA and the UK arm of Leonardo, a key supplier of
systems like the radar.
But government
officials have always made it clear that the Tempest program was affordable
only with the involvement of foreign partners bringing money, technology and
markets to the table.
France, Germany and Spain want to develop a
flyable demonstrator aircraft by 2026, or roughly 14 years before the weapon is
set for fielding.
By: Sebastian Sprenger
Doug Barrie, the senior
military air analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think
tank in London, said the Swedes bring several benefits to the program, not
least their industrial skill sets.
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar
Merk: Bare medlemmer av denne bloggen kan legge inn en kommentar.