We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

Key Points: The Tempest Fighter Project, a sixth-generation aircraft initiative led by the UK with Italy and Japan, is part of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).

-The Tempest aims to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon in the 2030s, featuring cutting-edge stealth, AI, advanced sensors, and next-generation propulsion.

-A highlight is the loyal wingman concept, where unmanned drones complement piloted aircraft in high-risk missions.

-Collaboration among BAE Systems, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and others enhances innovation and resource-sharing.

-While promising, challenges like cost overruns and delays may emerge due to the program’s multinational nature.

-Success depends on delivering the Tempest on time and budget.

Tempest Fighter: The UK, Italy, and Japan’s Answer to Sixth-Generation Air Combat

The Tempest Fighter Project is a collaborative next-generation fighter project led by the United Kingdom and joined by Italy and Japan to develop an advanced sixth-generation combat aircraft.

Launched as part of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the project aims to leverage the design and engineering strengths of the three countries involved to build the Tempest.

Once realized, the Tempest is set to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon sometime in the 2030s.

The Tempest is a sixth-generation aircraft that will be stealthy and incorporate artificial intelligence to bring network-centric warfare to the air.

One of the truly revolutionary aspects of the Tempest program — and advanced sixth-generation aircraft more broadly- is the loyal wingman concept of future air warfare.

Flying in tandem with piloted aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles multiply combat effectiveness by conducting “riskier” mission profiles like electronic warfare or direct strikes, keeping piloted aircraft farther from danger and reducing risk to pilots.

6th-Generation Fighter. Image Credit. Tempest Program.

The Tempest program will utilize open systems architecture, allowing smooth integration of technologies that are immature in the future.

 Situational awareness is a Tempest priority: advanced sensors like radar and electronic warfare will afford Tempest pilots excellent situational awareness. 

Combined with next-generation propulsion, the Tempest is anticipated to bring vastly superior capabilities when compared to current fourth—and fifth-generation aircraft.

A detailed breakdown of the Tempest’s planned capabilities and features can be seen here.

Tempest: Collaborative Defense Project

The collaborative nature of the Tempest project is an incredible strength of the program. Some of the project’s key industrial players are the United Kingdom’s BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, Leonardo UK, and MBDA, alongside Italy’s Leonardo and Avio Aero, as well as Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI Corporation.

Unlike the United States, which, afforded by the world’s most significant research and development defense budgets, can develop comparable projects from the ground up and virtually entirely at home, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan benefit from combining industrial and research resources of all three countries rather than leaning on the capabilities of just one country’s defense firms.

Multiple Horses in the Race

The Tempest program’s foray into the sixth-generation fighter race provides an alternative to two rival programs: the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, initiated by the United States, and the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program.

The deluge of sixth-generation programs currently in development — and the acronyms for these programs — are somewhat confusing. Tempest fits into the auspices of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a related but distinct initiative. 

Tempest refers specifically to the next-generation combat aircraft developed as part of the UK-led initiative to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Eurofighter Typhoon

Typhoon fitted with the common launcher (computer generated image: for illustrative purposes only)

In contrast, the GCAP program provides the legal framework under which the Tempest is being developed. It is more than just the aircraft: the open architecture, shared resources of the three nations involved in the project, and the program’s associated technologies.

Potential Pitfalls on the Horizon

Though currently in development, the Tempest won’t see service until the mid-2030s. 

The program’s multinational and collaborative nature has injected a measure of research and design expertise and much-needed cash into the program; multiparty defense projects can run a greater risk of cost overruns and delays thanks to competing design requirements and priorities inherent to multiparty projects. 

If the Tempest can deliver on time and on budget, it remains to be seen.

Tempest

BAE Systems artist image of Tempest Stealth Fighter. Image Credit: BAE.

About the Author: Caleb Larson 

Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.