Big ambitions for 3 countries! build a new generation of supersonic aircraft by 2035.
The UK, Italy and Japan partnership will create a new generation of supersonic aircraft by 2035.
BAE Systems test pilots are testing the world’s most advanced fighter jet at a massive facility in the northwest of England.
Its pilots made 125 flights and logged more than 170 hours, but the plane itself was not yet in production.
The flight takes place in a specially built simulator in a spacious room.
The virtual test will enable field testing of the supersonic prototype, which is scheduled to fly in 2027. It will be the first time a British fighter jet has been tested since the Eurofighter Typhoon almost 40 years ago.
It is also an important first step if the UK and its partners Italy and Japan are to meet their commitment under the trilateral Global Air Combat Program (GCAP) to have the next generation aircraft in the air by 2035.
Launched in December last year, the AMCP is one of the most ambitious military programs ever launched. The aircraft, a combination of the Japanese FX program and the Anglo-Italian Tempest program, could produce a supersonic aircraft in half the time and at a fraction of the cost of previous generation aircraft such as the Typhoon.
Hermann Klassen, director of BAE Systems’ Future Combat Air Systems division and former head of the Eurofighter Alliance, said a completely new approach was needed compared to the Typhoon program, which took about 20 years to develop. stated.
Fighter jets are the most technically complex and expensive aircraft. America’s next-generation F-35 project is the most expensive military project in history, costing the Department of Defense $1.7 trillion to acquire, operate and maintain.
Although the war in Ukraine highlighted the importance of defense industry sovereignty, AMCP partners understood that a new, more technologically advanced fighter aircraft program would inevitably cost less.
In the 1980s, Norman Augustine, former CEO of US defense company Lockheed Martin, predicted that the cost of purchasing new military aircraft would be so high that by 2054, the entire defense budget would be exhausted. He estimates only one plane will be available for use. purchase.
GCAP is not limited to aircraft, but also includes manned and unmanned aircraft and laser weapons.
The UK government invested more than £2 billion in the first Tempest program alone, and industry partners invested around £800 million. Japan’s Ministry of Defense plans to allocate 72.6 billion yen ($494 million) for the GCAP program in the 2024–2025 fiscal year.
The fund will fund the so-called “design and evaluation phase” until the end of 2025. The aim is to initiate a development phase between the three countries.
To achieve this ambitious challenge, the program’s key industrial partners,
BAE, Italy’s Leonardo SA and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are investing heavily in digital design, prototyping and innovative technological approaches.
Robots used in auto factories have been modified to operate within the tolerances required for military aircraft and to work alongside humans,
For example, BAE has begun using its proprietary 3D printing to create molds for the production of carbon fiber components. This “forming tool” is usually made of steel and takes about 26 weeks to manufacture. Using 3D printing, the company was able to print in 12 hours and complete the entire device in three weeks.
The use of digital modeling allows engineers to collaborate on designs, understand problems early, and speed up the regulatory certification process by reducing the need for expensive physical prototypes.
Given the scale of digital development, cybersecurity is one of the biggest challenges. Defense experts say cybersecurity differences between partner countries could be a source of tension.
“We believe our cybersecurity measures are comparable to those of other leading overseas defense companies,” Eguchi said. “There is no doubt that cyber threats will increase as digitalization expands.
